Volume 157, No. 63 covering the 1st Session of the 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) 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 DR. MATTHEW FRIEDMAN” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S2837-S2838 on May 10, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO DR. MATTHEW FRIEDMAN
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to congratulate Dr. Matthew Friedman, a finalist for the 2011 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Dr. Friedman is the executive director of the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, headquartered in White River Junction, VT. He was a finalist for the Career Achievement Medal given annually to a federal employee for significant accomplishments over a lifetime of achievement in public service.
Dr. Friedman is a pioneer in the field of traumatic stress disorders. For nearly 40 years now he has been working to identify the causes of and treatments for PTSD and advocating for those afflicted with the disorder. It is the cause of his career.
While PTSD is now recognized as a serious affliction associated with the stresses and violence of war, this was not always the case. In the early days of his work, Dr. Friedman had to convince skeptics both inside and outside of the Veterans Administration that many returning troops were suffering from PTSD. His efforts eventually persuaded veterans to accept the disease within their own communities. He was among the first Veterans Administration clinicians to recognize the depth and breadth of the disorder among returning Vietnam veterans. In 1973, he established one of the earliest groups to provide mental health assistance to former soldiers.
In 1989, after years of distinguished work in the field, Dr. Friedman was named as the first executive director of the then-new National Center for PTSD based in Vermont, in White River Junction. Since then, the center has grown into a group of seven centers located at VA medical centers and in connection with university medical research programs around the country. These seven centers have conducted unprecedented research, leading to critical advancements in the understanding, treatment, and prevention of traumatic disorders.
The Service to America Medals are some of the most prestigious awards given to celebrate America's civil servants. The medals will be presented on September 15 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Friedman has spent years studying, treating and advocated for our brave veterans who have been psychologically affected by war or other tragedies. Whether or not he is ultimately selected for it, Dr. Friedman is certainly deserving of the Samuel J. Heyman Career Achievement Medal, I commend him on his selection as a finalist, and I thank him for a lifetime of public service to America's veterans.
Dr. Friedman was mentioned in an article entitled Finalists for government's ``Oscars,'' recently published in the Washington Post. I ask unanimous consent that a copy be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Finalists for Government's ``Oscars''
Service medals will be awarded to nine outstanding employees
(By Lisa Rein)
One is leading the effort to reduce tobacco-related disease by regulating what goes into cigarettes. Another helped disrupt drug traffickers from laundering billions of dollars through Mexican banks. Another developed a strategy to make sure every American has access to high-speed Internet service.
These are among 34 federal workers nominated for the 2011 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal awards. The service medals--or ``Sammies,'' as they are known--are the Academy Awards of the federal world and honor distinguished public servants in a variety of fields, including transportation safety and data systems. With civil servants a key focal point in the debate over the size of government, the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service hopes its annual Service to America medals will act as a reminder of federal workers' commitment to their jobs.
Nine employees will receive awards this fall for their work on a variety of issues, both in the headlines and under the radar. One among them will be honored as federal employee of the year.
The 34 finalists, selected from more than 400 nominations by their bosses and colleagues, will be honored Thursday at a breakfast on Capitol Hill as part of Public Service Recognition Week, May 1-7, intended to recognize the efforts of federal, state and local government workers.
The nominees hail from Menlo Park, Calif., to White River Junction, Vt., with 23 working in the Washington area. Some are approaching the end of a long career in government, while others are in their 20s.
The Washington Post chose a random sample of finalists to ask about their work:
When the Food and Drug Administration gained new authority over tobacco products in 2009, it turned to doctor and public health expert Lawrence Deyton to launch the Center for Tobacco Products. Deyton's 30-year career in government has focused on fighting hepatitis, AIDS among veterans and other public health threats.
With a $450 million budget, Deyton, 58, led a successful effort to prohibit tobacco manufacturers from displaying the labels ``light,'' ``low'' and ``mild.'' In June, the center will issue regulations requiting graphic new health warnings on cigarette packages and billboards. Next up: Establishing which ingredients in cigarettes could be removed or changed to make them safer.
``We have a fundamental authority now that no other country has,'' Deyton said.
The Defense Department's inspector general has long had a system for protecting service members who report wrongdoing. But until Dan Meyer and his team were hired in 2004, civilian whisleblowers who suffered from retaliation had no advocate.
Meyer, 46, created a program that protects employees who report national security and procurement fraud. These whistleblowers often lose their security clearances as punishment. Meyer once blew the whistle himself when he was a Navy line officer who disclosed flaws in the investigation of a 1989 explosion that killed 47 American sailors.
``We needed to approach this as protection of our sources,'' he said.
When the Environmental Protection Agency came out late last year with a new plan to restore the Chesapeake Bay, 31-year-old Katherine Antos cajoled sometime-warring state governments, advocacy groups and industry to cooperate to increase their accountability. ``If we are going to be successful, we needed the right buy-in,'' said Antos, leader of the bay program's Water Quality Team. The biggest problem was conveying what might seem simple: ``What needs to be done, who is going to do it and how,'' she said.
Three years ago, the National Institutes of Health attempted to pick up where the country's prestigious medical centers had left off, cracking the code of diseases that cannot be diagnosed.
William Gahl, a pediatrician specializing in clinical and biochemical genetics, took on the challenge as the first director of the Undiagnosed Diseases Program. Interest was so strong that Gahl's $280,000 budget quickly grew to $3.5 million. Of 5,000 applicants, 400 have been accepted, though a medical diagnosis has been found for just 60.
``We admit failure in the majority of our cases,'' Gahl said. ``But these are people who have been everywhere else.''
Analysts at the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network have long suspected that Mexican drug traffickers were smuggling cash from their narcotics sales back into Mexico for deposit in local banks. Senior intelligence research analyst Ann Martin, 29, analyzed tens of thousands of bank transactions and discovered last year that billions of dollars in illegal drug profits were entering the Mexican banking system from the United States. Her work led the Mexican government to issue new regulations capping the amount of American dollars that can flow to Mexican banks.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a well-known mental health issue facing service members, but when Matthew Friedman began his career working with veterans 40 years ago, the term did not exist.
Today, the psychiatrist and pharmacologist is executive director of the Veterans Affairs Department's National Center for PTSD, based in White River Junction, Vt. Since the center was created in 1989, Friedman has expanded it to seven VA medical centers across the country. He overcame many skeptics along the way, who believed the affliction was not a serious disorder. At 71, Friedman now wants to understand how to prevent the disorder and why some soldiers suffer from it while others don't.
``What is the difference between resilient and vulnerable people?'' he asked.
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