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“RETIREMENT OF LORETTA NEUMANN” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E821-E822 on May 17, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RETIREMENT OF LORETTA NEUMANN
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HON. MARK UDALL
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, today is the final day of federal service for Loretta Neumann. Since January, she has been a member of my staff, but that was only the latest way she has been involved with important questions of public policy.
A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Loretta began her career in public service as a writer for the National Park Service, where she rose to become the Chief of the Branch of Internal Communications. Form that, she became very familiar with the entire National Park System and the many issues related to management of those lands and the other functions performed by the National Park Service.
In 1973, Loretta began her Capital Hill career when she joined the staff of Representative John F. Seiberling of Ohio, who was a member of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs as well as the Judiciary Committee. During the next four years, she was responsible for advising Representative Seiberling on all issues relating to energy, environmental protection, land conservation, and historic preservation. She played a key role in helping achieve enactment of the legislation that established the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in Ohio as well as important provisions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. She also was involved with development and enactment of the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1976.
In 1977, Loretta joined the professional staff of the Interior Committee, and remained with the Committee for 10 years.
During that decade, she was instrumental in helping shape many important measures, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, and the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980, as well as bills establishing new parks and protected areas such as the Harry S Truman National Historic Site and the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor. Many of these measures were of particular importance to my father, Mo Udall, as well as to Representative Seiberling and other Members of the committee and the House.
After that, Loretta next spent a number of years in the private sector. She built up her own consulting firm, CEHP Incorporated, which provided services in conservation, environmental protection and historic preservation. And she continued to be involved with many of the matters where she had gained expertise on Capital Hill, including the National Historic Preservation Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act, and the Archeological Resources Protection Act.
Among other things, she chaired the Four Corners Governors Conference that brought together agencies dealing with matters of importance to Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Loretta returned to service with the Federal Government in 1998, as an employee of the Department of Transportation. She served as DOT's representative to and director of the American Heritage Rivers Interagency Task Force of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. She also worked on other special projects for the Secretary of Transportation in a number of areas, including tourism and transportation and cultural and heritage tourism.
Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that last year's Presidential election did not have the result that I would have preferred. But for me there was at least one silver lining to that particular cloud--the change in Administrations gave me the opportunity to take advantage of Loretta's talents, at least for this brief period.
As a member of my staff, Loretta has worked on a number of conservation issues, especially focused on the issue of urban sprawl, an issue of great concern to Colorado and other states faced with rapid increase in population growth. She helped craft a bill to direct the Council on Environmental Quality to do a study of urban sprawl and smart growth. Building on her extensive experience with historic preservation and cultural heritage, she also helped draft the Cultural Heritage Assistance Partnership Act, which I am introducing today.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleagues that while Loretta is retiring from federal service, she will continue to be involved with public policy. She will soon begin work as the Director of Leadership Development for the Natural Resources Council of America. I look forward to her continued contributions as I work with our colleagues in the Congress and the Administration to promote sound policies regarding our natural and cultural resources, the environment, and other matters.
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