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Tribute to Mr. George Poole
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| May 10th, 2005 |
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Honorable Jeff Miller
of Florida
Extension of Remarks
Tribute to Mr. George Poole
May 10, 2005
Mr. Speaker, I was saddened to learn recently of the passing of Mr. George Poole, a distinguished senior manager with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Insurance Service. VA’s Insurance Service has long been recognized as one of the finest-managed organizations within the federal government, due in no small measure to Mr. Poole and his commitment to our servicemembers, veterans, and their survivors.
Few Americans can match George’s years of devoted service to country. He began his public career by serving in the United States Air Force from 1964 through 1968. Following his honorable discharge, he received bachelor and law degrees, taking full advantage of the VA-administered GI Bill. Who can doubt that his military service and studies made possible by the GI Bill inspired him to pursue a career dedicated to helping fellow veterans. This dedication translated into a distinguished 28-year career with the VA’s Insurance Service, where he served from 1977 until his death April 27th.
While it is difficult to highlight just one of his many accomplishments, surely his creation and development of the Insurance Service’s “Special Outreach” effort warrants particular mention. This outreach involves matching insurance participation and disability reports from various sources to identify recently separated, seriously injured veterans who have not taken advantage of VA’s life insurance programs. Based on the efforts of George and his staff, over $96 million in insurance proceeds have been provided to veterans’ survivors. Few among us have had such a dramatic and positive impact on the lives of so many others.
Mr. Poole was always available to provide invaluable research, data, and program explanations to the members and staff of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – often on short notice. As such, his expertise and professional manner were essential to the Committee when crafting bipartisan legislation.
Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, the subcommittee with jurisdiction over VA’s insurance programs, I extend my sincere condolences to Mr. Poole’s wife, Denise; his two sons, Todd and Corey; his granddaughter, Madeline; and his equally dedicated coworkers at the VA Regional Office and Insurance Center in Philadelphia.
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There are no Floor Speechess to be displayed for this month.
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