Volume 141, No. 203 covering the 1st Session of the 104th Congress (1995 - 1996) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO AN INDISPENSABLE AMERICAN” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S18825-S18826 on Dec. 18, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO AN INDISPENSABLE AMERICAN
1Mr. DODD. Mr. President, last month I was proud to learn that a member of my staff received an extraordinary accolade that is as fitting as it is complimentary. U.S. News & World Report named Stanley Israelite, my friend, counsel, and senior adviser in my State office in Connecticut, as 1 of 12 ``indispensable Americans.'' It was an honor and a tribute, but not a surprise. Stanley's friends, his colleagues--
and most certainly the people of Connecticut--have known that for years.
The best decision I ever made was hiring Stanley Israelite. He has been a dedicated public servant in every sense of the term, and I have trusted his counsel and treasured his companionship throughout my 21 years as a Member of Congress. Mr. President, it is with pride, admiration, and deference that I ask that this article from the November 27, 1995 issue of U.S. News & World Report be printed in the Record.
The article follows:
Hounding the Bureaucrats
(By James Popkin)
Lots of people's problems with their government aren't ideological, they're logistical. That's why many rely on the congressional aides like Stanley Israelite to help them fight their battles with government agencies.
At age 70, Stanley Israelite is fighting a crusade to prove the cynics wrong. Since 1975, when the gravelly voiced former Brooklynite first went to work for then Rep. Christopher Dodd
(now a senator), Israelite has helped thousands of Connecticut citizens replace lost passports, track down late tax refunds, ship dearly departeds to grieving families overseas and even bail the occasional misbehaving Connecticut teenager out of Mexican jails.
All successful members of Congress have staffers like Israelite who can goose reluctant bureaucrats into action. Although Dodd happens to be a Democrat, effective constituent service is a congressional specialty that cuts across political lines. It's first and foremost a matter of good politics: Good service results in happy voters. But what distinguishes Israelite is his gusto for the job. And his not-so-artful technique: ``When I call an agency because somebody is waiting for her Social Security check or a guy is waiting for an FHA loan and the agency gives me some song and dance, I try to let them know I'm not gonna take any of their crap,'' he says. ``At times, I tell them I've discussed this problem with the senator. Sometimes, it isn't true.''
A former jewelry store owner and Chamber of Commerce honcho from Norwich, Conn., Israelite is Dodd's pipeline to many of the state's small-business owners. Harry Jackson, a lifelong Republican who is the City Council president in Norwich, recalls how difficult it was to get a meeting with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency when the city wanted to build a new firehouse on federal land. ``Stan got us in there after just one phone call,'' says Jackson, who ultimately built the firehouse.
things happened.
Don Daren says Israelite was a lifesaver in 1981, when a state-based paper distributor was trying to secure a $900,000 umbrella loan from the Connecticut Development Authority. Daren, who owns the Arrow Paper Supply and Food Co., says it was going to take forever for the CDA to process his loan papers so he could buy a new warehouse. ``Stanley told them
[CDA officials] my problem, and things happened right away,'' says Daren, whose business has grown from 36 workers then to nearly 200 today. ``He has his own constituency. People like Stanley.''
Ideally, says veteran Hartford Courant political columnist Don Noel, senators like Dodd would use their clout on Capitol Hill to fix bureaucracies and make them more consumer friendly--eliminating the need for taxpayer-financed ombudsmen like Israelite. But since that goal seems unattainable, Noel figures that Israelite plays a vital role.
``If you have something you need the senator to do for you, if anyone can do it, Stanley can,'' he says.
Israelite admits that he is motivated by a desire to help re-elect Dodd. But he adds: ``Part of what drives me is knowing that there's someplace where somebody can go when they are not getting anyplace.''
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