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 CRAIG McLEAN” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the in the Senate section section on pages S2703-S2704 on May 25.
The Department includes the Census Bureau, which is used to determine many factors about American life. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department is involved in misguided foreign trade policies and is home to many unneeded programs.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO CRAIG McLEAN
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge the public service of Craig McLean who retired in April after a distinguished 40-
year career within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. Within NOAA, Mr. McLean was as a dedicated leader, advocating for science to advance NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts.
Mr. McLean has a deep dedication to our oceans and waterways, garnered from growing up along the Passaic River in Rutherford, NJ. As a child, he took a small boat out on the Passaic. As a teenager, he learned to dive and performed decompression diving in order to explore deep-ocean shipwrecks. These experiences helped inspire his career.
Mr. McLean began his NOAA career in 1981 as a uniformed officer in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and served for nearly 25 years before retiring at the rank of captain. During that time, he was instrumental to the founding of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, OER. Later, during his 16 years as a Federal executive, he provided continued leadership in driving forward mapping of U.S. waters to advance oceanographic scientific knowledge and discover deep ocean secrets including new species, historical shipwrecks, and undersea mountains. His leadership underlies OER's astounding accomplishments including mapping 2 million square kilometers and collecting ocean data in the waters of 16 countries and the high seas. This work contributed to key conservation decisions for vital marine habitats.
Most recently, Mr. McLean served as Assistant Administrator for NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research--OAR--for more than 6 years, leading an enterprise of 10 Federal laboratories across the country and six major programs performing vital research to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts for the benefit of the Nation. Mr. McLean's preeminent leadership of OAR enabled vital advancements, including improved forecasting of weather extremes such as hurricanes, winter storms, extreme precipitation, and drought as well as a greatly increased understanding of the Earth's climate system. His leadership has enabled NOAA to better prepare society in order to reduce the severe impacts of these events on life and property.
On the international stage, as the U.S. Representative to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization--UNESCO--Mr. McLean's skillful collaborative approach helped advance U.S. scientific goals and garnered support from our partners in ocean observing around the world. He helped broker consensus for global biogeochemical ocean sensors, known as Argo, which enabled a $53 million international commitment to expand deployments to improve ocean health and climate forecasting. Through this role, Mr. McLean served as a leader for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, championing this global undertaking to provide a common framework that ensures ocean science can support countries and achieve the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Finally, I want to acknowledge Mr. McLean's commitment to scientific integrity within NOAA. During the last administration, he boldly stepped forward as a complainant when NOAA experienced political interference, putting himself at risk to uphold scientific integrity and the Agency's reputation. He also served as the Department of Commerce representative on the National Science and Technology Council Fast-Track Action Committee on Scientific Integrity where he cochaired a working group to provide responsive outcomes for the Presidential Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking. NOAA's science and the Agency's integrity has been made stronger through Mr. McLean's commitment and leadership on this issue.
On behalf of my constituents in New Hampshire, I thank Craig McLean for his decades of excellent service to our Nation and wish him well in his retirement. I hope he enjoys the chance to take his family out on the water more in retirement and enjoys the oceans he has championed throughout his career.
____________________
