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 WILLIAM ``BILL'' WOOLF” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S1186-S1187 on Jan. 25, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM ``BILL'' WOOLF
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to bid farewell to one of the longest tenured members of my Senate staff, Mr. William ``Bill'' Woolf. Bill will retire from U.S. Senate employment at the end of January, after 20 years of exceptional service to the citizens of this country and to the residents of the State of Alaska.
Bill was born in Washington State and studied at Washington State University and the University of Alaska in Juneau. Growing up in the country, he developed an early and lasting love of the outdoors--
boating, fishing, and hunting--even before moving to the Last Frontier in 1974.
He has served as my legislative assistant for fisheries, science, and transportation issues since I entered the Senate in 2002. Prior to that, he worked for the ``other Senator Murkowski'' for 15 years. While I love to catch and eat Alaska' salmon, halibut, crab, and pollock, Bill truly knows not only the biology but also the economic intricacies of both sport and commercial fishing and game management issues. Over the years, he has become an expert in wildlife and fishery biology and management, dedicating himself to protecting and expanding fish and game stocks not just in Alaska but nationwide.
Bill moves easily among scientists, government officials, fishermen, and business. He has gained a reputation as a dedicated and knowledgeable advocate for sound, scientific fishery and wildlife management and quality resource development.
He has worked tirelessly to help perfect and protect the regional fishery management process, encompassed in the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act. Despite never serving with a member of the Commerce Committee, Bill has been influential in many of the fisheries laws passed by this body, dealing with subjects as diverse as reflagging of foreign processing ships, banning the use of large-scale driftnets on the high seas, improving safety and quality inspection techniques for fish products, allowing fishermen greater control over secondary market pricing, providing for country of origin seafood labeling, and encouraging action to allow ``organic'' labeling.
He also worked with the State Department and others to implement international agreements on fisheries in the central Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, protection of salmon in the North Pacific, successful negotiations with Canada of the Pacific Salmon Treaty, and many others. He is particularly proud of having drafted, presented, and worked with the staff of U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright to achieve U.N. General Assembly approval for the very first international resolution to control bycatch and waste in fisheries worldwide.
Bill, however, has not focused solely on fisheries. Over the years, his range of issues has cut across many lines, involved many disciplines, and a wide range of science, transportation, and other issues for the Alaska congressional delegation. Among his accomplishments were writing the first comprehensive law to control wastewater discharges from cruise ships in Alaska, advising the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, representing Alaska's interests in staff negotiations on the Water Resources Development Act, and working long hours and weekends to ensure that the Highway Reauthorization passed by the 109th Congress would help bring Alaska's road system into the 21st century. He also helped organize and staffed a Senate Coast Guard Caucus for several years.
After the 2005 hurricanes devastated the gulf coast, he was the key influence behind the successful formation of the Alaska Fishing Industry Relief Mission. This nonprofit corporation moved important equipment all the way from Alaska to Louisiana and Mississippi--including both a 60-ton capacity boat lift and a 30-ton per day ice making machine, both were critically needed to get the gulf coast fishing industry back in play. The formation of the caucus and mission are a lasting testament to Bill's good judgment, hard work, and dedication to intelligently build this Nation's ports and harbors infrastructure and to care for those who depend on them.
I also want to mention that Bill started his career as a broadcaster, general manager, news director, correspondent and producer for radio and television stations in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. He also served a stint as a Senate press secretary and communications' director for the chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the first Persian Gulf war. He understands how important it is for Congress to communicate its policies to the citizens of America and fully explain why we take the actions that we do.
While I am sorry to lose one of my staff leaders, I am happy that he will be able to more fully enjoy some of his other interests: woodworking, motorcycling, fishing, hunting, his collection of Alaskan and Asian art, and his beloved German shepherd dogs.
I will miss Bill's hard work, vast knowledge, good humor, and sound judgment. It has been a pleasure to have him on my staff. I wish him and his wife Karen the very best and know that Alaskans will benefit for decades to come from his efforts to protect and enhance this Nation natural and biological resources and the environment.
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