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“RECOGNIZING FEDERAL EMPLOYEE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S8734-S8735 on Dec. 10, 2010.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING FEDERAL EMPLOYEE
Deborah Autor
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise again to recognize the service of another great Federal employee. This is a tradition that was started by our friend and former colleague, Senator Kaufman, and I am proud to carry on that tradition. But I want to first say that I appreciate the remarks of the Presiding Officer about our colleagues who are leaving this body, and I share his great respect for not only Senator Kaufman but all of the colleagues who are leaving the body at the end of this Congress.
Mr. President, oftentimes we forget that thousands of Federal employees go to work every day with the sole mission of making this country a safer place to live. Ms. Deborah Autor is one of those employees.
As we enter into the cold and flu season, there is great concern about harmful medications that may fall into the hands of our children or other loved ones. As Director of the Food and Drug Administration's Drug Compliance Office, Ms. Autor works to protect public health by minimizing Americans' exposure to unsafe, ineffective, and poor-quality drugs that enter the marketplace.
Ms. Autor is particularly focused on removing potentially dangerous prescription medicines, including cough medicines, anti-inflammatory drugs, antihistamines, and migraine medications, just to name a few. Under her leadership, the FDA has taken enforcement action to remove more than 500 unapproved prescription drugs from the market. She is also credited with designing a program used to identify unapproved drugs, evaluate the public health consequences, and explore any potential legal challenges.
Many believe Ms. Autor is the brains behind the FDA's aggressive enforcement efforts. In conducting the research for these remarks, we found a quote from Mr. Steven Galson, a former Acting U.S. Surgeon General, and this is what he had to say about Ms. Autor:
She developed the program under budget constraints, withstood scrutiny and criticism from some in the drug industry and Congress, successfully navigated the internal FDA process and took aggressive action to clamp down on illegal drug marketers.
There are many others who have sung her praises and highlighted her commitment to public service.
Prior to work at the FDA, Ms. Autor was a trial attorney for the Office of Consumer Litigation at the Department of Justice, where she served for 7 years. In this role, she litigated civil and criminal cases on behalf of the FDA.
I hope my colleagues will join me in honoring Ms. Autor for her dedicated public service and important contributions to our Nation's health and safety.
I would also add that in these challenging fiscal times, as we approach and go through the holiday season, I hope we all recognize the enormous contribution all of our Federal employees make. The Presiding Officer many times reminds all of us of the enormous role our men and women in the armed services play, and our thoughts and prayers are with all of them. But I think it is also important to recognize these great Federal employees such as Ms. Autor and literally the countless others who oftentimes--and sometimes at the disdain of folks in elective office--are the folks who provide enormous public service to all Americans. So I hope we keep them in our thoughts as well during this holiday season.
Before I conclude my remarks, I also wish to thank my friend, the Senator from Vermont, who is a passionate advocate for trying to end the growing income inequality in this country. I know he is going to be making some impassioned comments, and I appreciate his giving me a couple of moments to recognize this Federal employee, and I look forward to hearing his comments.
With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
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