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 THOMAS G. HUNGAR” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1677 on Dec. 17, 2018.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO THOMAS G. HUNGAR
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HON. PAUL D. RYAN
of wisconsin
in the house of representatives
Monday, December 17, 2018
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express the appreciation of the entire House of Representatives to Thomas G. Hungar for his exemplary service as General Counsel of the House. Tom has been a faithful defender of this institution, its Members, and its prerogatives since his appointment in 2016. Tom's distinguished legal career has included service in all three branches of government. In the Judicial Branch, he served as a law clerk in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. In the Executive Branch, he served in the Office of the Solicitor General at the Department of Justice, including as Deputy Solicitor General. Having presented oral argument before the Supreme Court in 26 cases, Tom is one of our Nation's leading appellate lawyers and an expert on constitutional law.
Tom began his Legislative Branch service with the House in 2016, as one of only a small number of lawyers ever to serve as General Counsel of the House. Under Tom's guidance and leadership, the General Counsel's Office has provided sophisticated and invaluable legal advice and has been a trusted institutional resource for Members, Officers, Committees, and staff, regardless of political affiliation. Through excellent legal work and counsel, undertaken with zeal for the best interests of the House, Tom and his office have earned the respect of Members on both sides of the aisle.
When the House's institutional interests were at stake, Tom's legal advice was always tailored to safeguarding the House's constitutional prerogatives and protecting the House' s vital role in our constitutional structure. Tom successfully litigated cases defending and protecting the House's constitutionally based subpoena authority. Tom also defended the House and its Officers to preserve and protect the House's longstanding practice of opening each legislative day with a prayer. Additionally, under Tom, the House has filed amicus briefs articulating its position on the proper interpretation of the Appropriations, Rulemaking, and Speech or Debate Clauses of the Constitution. Numerous Members, Committees, and Subcommittees relied on Tom's extensive litigation expertise in connection with investigative and oversight activities. Finally, Tom defended House Members, Officers, and staff in judicial proceedings at both the trial and appellate levels and advised Members and Committees in connection with their interactions with both private and other governmental entities.
I know that Tom will continue his exceptional work wherever the next chapter of his impressive legal career takes him. On behalf of the House of Representatives, I express my deepest gratitude to Tom for his dedication to this institution, and I extend our very best wishes to him, his wife Jaye, and their children, Brett, Claire, Lance, and Paige.
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