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 CAMILLE PEASE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the in the Senate section section on page S3156 on June 23.
The Department oversees energy policies and is involved in how the US handles nuclear programs. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department's misguided energy regulations have caused large losses to consumers for decades.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO CAMILLE PEASE
Mr. KING. Mr. President, as most of us here in the Senate know, this Chamber functions with a dedicated and able staff to support us. Because we are a relatively small body that has to oversee the actions of the far larger executive branch, we rely on specialists detailed from other Agencies throughout the government. It is really a two-way deal. When they come here, they learn about the intricacies of the legislative process and get to participate in it. In return, we benefit from their years of experience in the Agency they come from.
In my case as chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, we rely on the Government Accountability Office or GAO staff who specialize in nuclear and space systems to help us on the programmatic details of a multitude of programs in the Department of Energy and Defense, and every year, the committee sponsors one of them to spend a year with us.
For the past year, we were fortunate enough to have Ms. Camille Pease with us from the GAO as our detailee, and now, her year is up, and she is heading back.
Because of the way the Armed Services Committee works in preparing for a markup, members such as myself and Senator Fischer, our ranking member on the subcommittee, spend a tremendous amount of time with staff, including Cami, on hearings and briefings in order to build a legislative record and develop legislation for our annual markup of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. In every aspect, Cami was there to enrich us with her expertise on the National Nuclear Security Administration. In return, I hope she is wiser on how we work in this Chamber, and in the Armed Services Committee in particular, on a bipartisan legislative process that has managed to produce a NDAA for the past 61 years.
So we thank you, Cami, for spending time with us, and we wish you the best on your return to the GAO. We hope your time with us will help you in the years to come. I hope you take back to the GAO that, when it comes to the national security of this nation, and the NDAA in particular, this Chamber does work in a bipartisan and productive fashion, and it is my hope it will continue to do so in the years to come.
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