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.
“HONORING CAROLYN EDWARDS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1528 on Dec. 3, 2019.
The Department handles nearly all infrastructure crisscrossing the country. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department should be privatized to save money, reduce congestion and spur innovation.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING CAROLYN EDWARDS
______
HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO
of oregon
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, on behalf of myself and Mr. Graves of Missouri, today I would like to recognize the outstanding career, significant accomplishments, and invaluable contributions of Carolyn Edwards, a dedicated civil servant who in January will retire after a distinguished 46-year career with the U.S. Department of Transportation--44 of these with the Federal Highway Administration.
Among her many exemplary accomplishments, Ms. Edwards has been involved in every Federal surface transportation bill since TEA-21 in 1998. This has included support--through the technical assistance process--for Congressional Committees, countless Members of Congress, and their staff on legislative and highway policy issues.
This is the fourth time that a Congressional Committee Chair (or Ranking Member) has publicly thanked Ms. Edwards, by name, for her contributions. Prior instances include--
On July 29, 2005, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Senator Jim Inhofe) thanked her on the Senate floor during floor consideration of the conference report for SAFETEA-LU;
On June 29, 2012, in the Congressional Record the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (the Honorable John Mica) thanked Ms. Edwards, among others, for her work on MAP-21; and
On December 3, 2015, I thanked Ms. Edwards on the House floor for her work on the FAST Act.
Ms. Edwards joined the Federal Highway Administration in 1973 as an economist within the Agency's Office of Highway Planning. There, she helped to establish FHWA's Highway Performance Monitoring System--a system that 40 years later continues to provide national-level data on the extent, condition, performance, use, and operating characteristics of the nation's highways. Over the ensuing four-and-a-half decades, Ms. Edwards has gone on to serve in a range of high-level analytical positions at FHWA, including stints in FHWA's Office of Highway Policy Information and in FHWA's Office of Legislative Affairs and Policy Communications.
As one example, during the mid-1990s, Ms. Edwards served in FHWA's Office of Highway Information Management. While there, she identified--
then helped to resolve--a $1.6 billion error in the Treasury Department's calculation of Highway Trust Fund revenues, which impacted the State-by-State distribution of Federal highway funding. Later, she also worked in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs, with a portfolio that covered Federal-aid highway programs and the Highway Trust Fund.
Ms. Edwards is ending her career as a member--and former leader--of FHWA's legislative analysis team. In this capacity, she serves as an unparalleled national expert on a wide range of highway-related topics, including Federal highway legislation, the Highway Trust Fund, and the operations of the Federal-aid highway program. For years, she has been a go-to reference on these topics for both agency and departmental leaders. Furthermore, as testament to the quality of her work, over the course of her career, Ms. Edwards has been recognized with multiple FHWA Superior Achievement Awards, a Secretary's Team Award, and two Secretarial Awards for Partnering for Excellence.
In closing, on behalf of myself, the Committee, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and our staff, I would like to thank Ms. Edwards for her steadfast public service, her support for the Congress, and her immeasurable contributions to the Federal-aid highway program.
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