[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1186-1187]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO EDWARD JOHNSON

  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following 
letter be printed in the Record in recognition of the service of Edward 
Johnson, chief financial officer of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, upon his retirement from the Federal Government.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                             FEMA,


                              Department of Homeland Security,

                                Washington, DC, December 15, 2015.
     Edward Johnson,
     Chief Financial Officer, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
         Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Johnson: It is with a great sense of gratitude 
     that I write this letter in recognition of your 38 years of 
     service to our nation. On the cusp of your retirement, I want 
     to acknowledge your leadership, management, and business 
     acumen, which directly and significantly contributed to the 
     Department of Homeland Security's financial management 
     success.
       You have been a tireless leader in the Department's senior 
     leadership cadre, providing sage advice on a wide range of 
     issues and challenging convention as a valued member of the 
     DHS Chief Financial Officer Council. I am particularly 
     thankful for your most recent efforts at the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in building a Planning 
     Programming Budgeting and Execution structure, which 
     championed a disciplined resource management paradigm as a 
     foundational element of the Agency's strategic plan. As part 
     of FEMA's leadership team, you revamped the Agency's Program

[[Page 1187]]

     and Budget Review system, instituting Quarterly Resource 
     Reviews and chartering a senior leadership council 
     responsible for making all resource management 
     recommendations for the Agency. Your steadfast work yielded 
     tangible, positive results in the development of FEMA's 
     yearly budget submission and in ensuring the most effective 
     and efficient use of scarce resources.
       Thanks to your leadership, FEMA also made significant 
     strides in the financial system modernization arena. FEMA is 
     now in the forefront amongst federal agencies as we rapidly 
     advance the replacement of unsustainable legacy financial 
     systems that bring together diverse equities in an effort to 
     save taxpayer dollars while making government more 
     streamlined and efficient. Simply put, you were the right 
     leader to pull this complex set of financial system needs 
     together and move them into the future. As a result of these 
     and other accomplishments, you were recognized as one of the 
     Federal 100 by FCW, a public sector trade publication.
       Prior to joining our team at FEMA, you served DHS in a 
     number of capacities where you were continuously recognized 
     as one of the top civil servants. From your service as 
     Director of the Burlington Finance Center for the U.S. 
     Immigration and Customs Enforcement to your tenure at the 
     U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services, you worked tirelessly 
     to advance the Department's mission in service to the 
     American people.
       On behalf of FEMA's leadership team, our entire workforce 
     and a grateful nation, I want to wish you and your wife Donna 
     good luck and good health as you enter this new chapter in 
     your lives. I will forever remain grateful for your wise 
     counsel and tireless service.
           Sincerely,


                                              W. Craig Fugate,

     Administrator.

                          ____________________