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“A TRIBUTE TO DR. RICHARD BREITMEYER IN RECOGNITION OF HIS EXEMPLARY PUBLIC SERVICE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2166-E2167 on Dec. 16, 2010.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
A TRIBUTE TO DR. RICHARD BREITMEYER IN RECOGNITION OF HIS EXEMPLARY
PUBLIC SERVICE
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HON. DANIEL E. LUNGREN
of california
in the house of representatives
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Dr. Richard Breitmeyer, who has provided exemplary public service for over 25 years.
Dr. Richard Breitmeyer has served as the California State Veterinarian at the California Department of Food and Agriculture since 1993--rising to this position through a series of senior appointments at CDFA since 1988. He has also served at the United States Department of Agriculture in Ames, Indiana and Plum Island, New York. Before joining the CDFA in 1984, Breitmeyer was in private veterinary practice.
Throughout his professional career, Dr. Breitmeyer has been a member of both the California and American Veterinary Medical Associations. He also served as president of the U.S. Animal Health Association since 2009 and was co-chair of the USDA Secretary's Advisory Committee for Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases.
In 2001, USDA Secretary Ann Veneman asked California to loan Dr. Breitmeyer to the USDA to provide leadership in addressing the very real possibility that Foot and Mouth Disease might migrate from the United Kingdom to the United States. It is a testament to Breitmeyer's leadership that this virulent and devastating livestock disease did not enter the United States. Due to this work, the USDA presented Dr. Breitmeyer with the Honor Award in 2002.
Dr. Breitmeyer also led the effort in California to develop animal health emergency response planning with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services--an effort put to the test during the successful eradication of exotic Newcastle disease from Southern California in 2003.
Dr. Richard Breitmeyer is loved and respected by his wife and family, by the team that worked for him at CDFA, and by all those who have interacted with him during his professional life. I am grateful that since his retirement on September 30, 2010, Dr. Breitmeyer has joined the staff at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, to continue his outreach activities for livestock and poultry health.
I am pleased to recognize and congratulate Dr. Richard Breitmeyer upon his retirement, and applaud him for his dedication to California.
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