[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12362]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAN MATHEWS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2017

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dan Mathews and 
thank him for his years of dedicated service to Congress and the 
American taxpayers. Dan has worked on the Hill for over 20 years, and, 
he has been a fixture on the staff of the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure as the Republican Staff Director of the Subcommittee 
on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management for 
the last 14 years. The Subcommittee has a wide area of jurisdiction 
covering federal buildings and courthouses, the General Services 
Administration, and GSA leases and capital projects, the Smithsonian, 
the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, and numerous other 
federal facilities. In addition, Dan also staffed the Select Bipartisan 
Committee to Investigate the Preparedness for and the Response to 
Hurricane Katrina in 2006. He was one of the primary authors of the 
Committee's investigative report, ``A Failure of Initiative,'' which 
led to the successful enactment of the Post-Katrina Emergency 
Management Reform Act, and later the establishment of the National 
Preparedness System and the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act.
  In his time with the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
Dan has had a leading role in the enactment of major pieces of 
legislation related to public buildings and emergency management. Most 
notably, during his tenure, he has overseen the passage and the initial 
implementation of the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act (FASTA), 
which will shrink the size of government and help ensure savings by 
selling or redeveloping high value properties, consolidating federal 
space, and streamlining the disposal of unneeded assets; the Post-
Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, which gave FEMA clear guidance 
on its mission and priorities, and provided the legislative authorities 
needed to better partner with state, local, tribal, and territorial 
governments before, during, and after disasters; and the Sandy Recovery 
Improvement Act, which was the most significant legislative change to 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) substantive 
authorities since the enactment of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974.
  Dan has also worked tirelessly to save taxpayer money by reducing the 
cost of federal real estate, reducing waste in the federal courthouse 
construction program, coordinating efforts by agencies to reduce 
leasing costs through space reductions and consolidations, and pushing 
GSA to negotiate the best lease deals for the taxpayer. It comes as no 
surprise given his experience and efforts, that the Administration has 
appointed him Commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings Service. I am 
confident in that role, Dan will continue the important work of 
ensuring GSA and other federal agencies continue to reduce costs and 
make smarter decisions in federal real estate to benefit the taxpayer.
  In his spare time, Dan enjoys spending time with his family, his wife 
Lara and their two daughters, traveling, doing yoga, and rock climbing. 
Mr. Speaker, please join me in acknowledging Dan's achievements during 
his tenure here in the House of Representatives and in wishing Dan the 
best of luck with new endeavors.

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