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“REMEMBERING SENATOR ABRAHAM RIBICOFF” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S1959 on March 13, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMEMBERING SENATOR ABRAHAM RIBICOFF
Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to talk about a man who served the people of Connecticut and America with dignity, honor and great style. Abraham Ribicoff spent most of his life in the public service. Before he became a Senator in 1962, he was a Congressman, the Governor of Connecticut, and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Kennedy administration. He was a true leader in the Senate on many issues and his style of leadership and public service will be greatly missed.
During his time in the Senate, Senator Ribicoff served on the Government Operations Committee, which was renamed the Governmental Affairs Committee during his tenure. He began his service on the committee on February 25, 1963 and served as Chairman from 1977 to 1980.
As Chairman, Senator Ribicoff oversaw the passage of many initiatives we now take for granted in the government. One such bill was the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which was the first substantive reform of the Federal civil service in nearly 100 years. He also helped to enact the Ethics in Government Act, which mandates public disclosure for high-ranking officials in the three branches of the Federal Government. He navigated to passage legislation that created Inspectors General in each of the major federal agencies to serve as public watchdogs to combat waste, fraud and abuse in federal programs.
During his tenure as Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ribicoff also oversaw the implementation of legislation that established a permanent, Cabinet-level Department of Energy in the executive branch. By doing so, all of the federal government's major energy programs were brought together in one place, including those programs relating to economic regulation of energy supply systems. He also worked closely with Senator Glenn to help enact the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act, which established a more effective framework for international cooperation to meet the energy needs of nations. It also ensured that the worldwide development of peaceful nuclear activities and the export by any nation of nuclear materials, equipment, and nuclear technology intended for the use in peaceful nuclear activities did not contribute to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
An area in which Senator Ribicoff and I shared a great interest is that of federal regulation and how to make it more effective, and at the same time, less burdensome. On July 26, 1975, Senate Resolution 71, introduced by Senator Ribicoff and Senator Glenn, was agreed to by the Committee. This resolution authorized a study of Federal regulatory agencies to be undertaken jointly by the Committee on Commerce and the Committee on Government Operations. The first two of these studies which the Committee on Government Operations compiled were entitled
``Study on Federal Regulation: The Regulatory Appointment Process,'' and ``Study on Federal Regulation: Congressional Oversight of Executive Agencies.'' These two studies set the groundwork for the regulatory reform work that the committee undertook at that time and which we continue to pursue today.
I want to acknowledge Senator Ribicoff for having the foresight, some twenty years ago, to examine the regulatory process. As I have found out this is not an easy task, but well worth the effort. While Senator Ribicoff's leadership and public service will be greatly missed, it is my hope that we can carry on his pioneering work and establish a better and smarter regulatory process.
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