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“RECOGNITION OF THE SERVICE OF JAMES S.W. DREWRY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1468-E1469 on June 17, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNITION OF THE SERVICE OF JAMES S.W. DREWRY
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HON. DON YOUNG
of alaska
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to and recognize the outstanding service of James S.W. Drewry upon his retirement from the practice of law.
Jim Drewry is retiring after decades of outstanding service as a lawyer to his country, to the Congress of the United States, and a leading practitioner in the Washington, DC, community. As outstanding as his National service and later career have been, I would be especially remiss if I did not go to Jim's early work experience prior to graduating from college and attending law school. Jim began his work experience serving as a clerk for Senator E.L. Bartlett (D-Alaska) in the United States Senate during the summers of 1961 to 1963. He then got some real world labor experience as a gandy dancer while working as part of the labor gang on the Alaska Railroad during the summer of 1964. These experiences prepared him well for a life-long career as a legislative attorney that often touched on the important maritime, fishery, natural resource, and transportation issues of importance to my State of Alaska. I for one always appreciated the professionalism and knowledge that Jim brought to the issues, but also his early practical and hands on experience that he brought to any situation.
Jim obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA, in 1966, with honors in political science. There he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He went on to earn not one but two law degrees. The first was from the University of Virginia School of Law
(LL.B. 1969) and the second from the London School of Economics (LL.M. international law 1975). Contemporaneously, he held various positions during school breaks including working as a deckhand on a Great Lakes iron ore cargo ship (summer 1965), as a clerk for the Shipbuilders Council of America (summers 1966-67), and as an editorial assistant for the Stratton Commission on National Ocean Policy (summer 1968). Upon graduation from law school, he was admitted to the Virginia Bar and worked as a solicitor in the Corporate Law Department of the Southern Railway (July to October 1969) before joining the U.S. Navy (October 1969 to August 1974). In the Navy he served on active duty as a Navy Judge Advocate in Japan (2 years), Vietnam (1 year), and Florida (1 year). In the course of that he prosecuted, and defended, in over 200 courts-martial, and served as trial judge in others. For this service he was awarded Navy Achievement Medal twice, for performance in Japan and Vietnam.
After his Naval service, he continued in public service from November 1975 to June 1980, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While at NOAA, he served as Special Assistant to the NOAA Administrator and as well as in progressively senior positions in the NOAA General Counsel's Office. As Senior Counsel for International Law, he was the Commerce Department's legal representative on U.S. international delegations for the negotiation of major treaties involving fisheries, wildlife, and maritime boundaries. As Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Fisheries, he was one of the two main legal advisers to the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service and carried out the overall supervision and office management of the attorneys and staff. As Staff Attorney, he worked closely with the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel on a wide range of legal issues and represented NOAA in Administrative Law Judge proceedings.
In 1980 he began his illustrious and distinguished career with the United States Congress. While Jim worked his entire congressional career in the Senate, I say United States Congress because his contributions to legislation and legislative process benefited the entire institution, not just one body. For over 18 years he served as Counsel to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in positions requiring senior-level policy and managerial experience in the fields of commerce, transportation, communications, science and technology, natural resources, and consumer affairs. Many of those years he worked for the distinguished Senator from South Carolina, Senator Fritz Hollings, who was always a gentleman to this Member and a great friend to my dear friend, Senator Ted Stevens. During this tenure at the Commerce Committee Jim was Senior Democratic Counsel for Oceans and Atmosphere (June 1980 to July 1987), nonpartisan Legislative Counsel (July 1987 to May 1994), and Democratic General Counsel/General Counsel (May 1994 to 1999). Throughout his service, and in addition to his considerable substantive contributions in the matters before Congress, Jim provided advice and guidance on parliamentary procedure, the Congressional Budget Act, ethics requirements, and other legal and policy matters. He had daily contact with Democratic floor staff regarding Senate floor action that affected Commerce Committee legislation, participated in the day-to-day management and supervision of the Democratic staff, ensured that documents relating to hearings, markups, and other meetings of Members and the Committee were comprehensive and legally and factually correct, and maintained regular and excellent relationships with Republican staff. Jim's hallmark was his dedicated, calm, and professional manner that provided all Members regardless of political party or philosophical establishment the best support and advice possible.
After this illustrious career in public service, he struck out and went into private law practice. There he took with him and used all of the legislative and ethics skills he developed over the years. He served clients in both the public and private sector, in maritime, fisheries, and natural resources. His approach to client advocacy was one of impeccable integrity, professional skill, and thoroughness in advice. Jim's advice was rightly sought because of this approach. Jim really cared about helping people--everyday people including many in my own State. He tried his best to find compromise and a way to get things done, and a way to get to ``yes'' on difficult problems so that his fellow citizens could benefit. There is much said today to malign those in the law and lobbying business and those who go from positions in government to the private sector. For those who want to know how our system should work, and does work, they need only look to the career of James S.W. Drewry. Jim's pursuit of truth, excellence, and integrity were unparalleled in the Washington community.
Now he moves on to a justly deserved retirement but one that we hope will keep him active in area of public policy development and implementation. He comes from a long line of public servants from Virginia having a grandfather, Patrick Henry Drewry, who served in the Congress as Member of this House and a father, John Metcalf Drewry, who served as a chief counsel for the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee in the House of Representatives. Jim was not content to rest on the laurels of his family legacy, however, and as you can see from this account, distinguished himself in his own right. I join with throngs of his friends and colleagues in saying that the likes of Jim Drewry do not come along everyday and his service to and with us all will be truly missed. With that I send him my very best wishes and also to his wife, Maria, and two sons, for many years of a healthy and prosperous ``next chapter'' in his life.
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