Mr. President, for the past five days, I have paid tribute to the nation's public servants during Public Service Recognition Week through statements on the floor of the United States Senate. As this is the 20th annual celebration of public service, it was fitting to focus the Senate's attention on public servants and issues affecting federal employees throughout the week.
Today I would like to recognize those federal, state, and local government programs that received the Public Service Excellence Awards. The Public Service Excellence Awards recognize and commend U.S. programs and employee teams who represent public service at its best. It rewards innovations, raises awareness of exemplary public service, and provides public agencies a showcase for outstanding programs. On May 3, 2004, the Public Employees Roundtable, a nonprofit coalition of organizations representing public employees and retirees, held a Breakfast of Champions to honor the award winners for this year.
This year, the federal winner was the "Internal Revenue Service (IRS) eLearning Program." As my colleagues on the Governmental Affairs Committee know, training our federal workforce is one the most important and most underfunded programs in the federal government. Even when training programs are funded, agencies must use innovative techniques to stretch training dollars and apply training funds strategically. The IRS realized that approximately 70 percent of its training budget went toward travel to and from the seminars. As such, eLearning could save the IRS a significant amount of money by converting its training system from a classroom-based to a technology-enhanced learning and performance support environment. In the initial phase of the program, the IRS saved more than $5 million in travel costs by using the technology for briefings required of all 120,000 employees and courses supporting the 28,000 employees of Customer Call Center Operations. At full implementation, the eLearning strategy is expected to save more than $50 million in annual travel costs and reduce training time by up to one-third. This innovative program at IRS is an excellent example of the dedicated work and professional excellence of federal employees.
The state winner is the "Work that Matters" campaign by the Montana Education Association and the Montana Federation of Teachers (MEA-MFT). The "Work that Matters" public relations campaign was created in 2003 to prevent the Montana Legislature from freezing salaries of state employees. "Work That Matters" is about putting a face on the people who provide state services and showing them as dedicated, hardworking people, who care about the people they serve.
As my colleagues know, all too often government employees are forced to "tighten their belts" during times of financial difficulties. That trend is no different for state governments across the United States. In Montana, the beginning of the 2003 legislative session had state employees struggling with hiring freezes, layoffs, staff shortages, and salaries far below market value. This public relations program put a face to the government employees who carry out the programs and services that benefit taxpayers, the state legislature realized the importance of public service and passed a pay increase. This year's local winner was the City of Chicago's "311 Service," which provides a one-stop telephone and online customer service center for all non-emergency city services. It is a comprehensive, high-tech, customer-focused information and response service. Chicago residents can use the system to make service needs known, check on the status of earlier requests, file police reports, and get information on city programs and events. In addition, the 311 service is synchronized with Chicago's 911 emergency service. Such interoperability is commendable because all too often the non-emergency services are overlooked when developing an emergency response system. "Chicago 311" is an innovative and effective way for public employees to serve the community.
The Public Service Roundtable also recognized a non-profit organization, which was founded by a retired federal employee. Scott Dimock and his partner, Sammie Morrison, created Southeast White House community center in Washington, D.C. which has made an incredible impact on an area troubled by high unemployment, lack of opportunity, and broken promises. Through the use of donated services, time, and money, Southeast White House has developed a mentoring program, a Friends of Children program, a People's House referral service for services throughout the Metropolitan area, and an activities program that includes summer camps, field trips, lessons and programs in a variety of subjects, Mom's Night Out, and weekly community banquets open to all. In addition, Southeast White House has adopted an elementary school and has developed an intensive mentoring program for at-risk children. More than 100 elementary school children now receive up to eight hours of mentoring each week. While not technically part of a federal, state, or local government organization, it is easy to see the dedication public servants, both active and retired, bring to their nation and their neighbor.
I would also like to commend GEICO, the Government Employees Insurance Company, for creating the GEICO Public Service Awards which, since 1980, recognizes the work federal employees do to make their communities better. The awards recognizes government employees for outstanding achievements in one of four areas: substance abuse prevention and treatment, fire prevention and safety, physical rehabilitation, and traffic safety and accident prevention. In addition, one retired federal employee is honored for his or her work in one of those areas. Recipients of the 2003 awards are:
• Charles Whitlock, fire safety project leader for the U.S. Forest Service Technology & Development Center in Missoula, Montana, for his work in fire safety and prevention.
• Amanda Tye, county executive director of the Cleveland County Office for the Farm Service Agency, for her work in traffic safety and accident prevention.
• Carolyn D. Greene, program support assistant for the Louis Stokes V.A. Medical Center in Cleveland Ohio, for her work in substance abuse prevention and treatment.
• Ralph P. Fowler, a telecommunications specialist for the United States Army in El Paso, Texas, for his work in physical rehabilitation.
• George S. Klein, a retired general forecaster with the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Upton, N.Y., for his work in physical rehabilitation.
As Public Service Recognition Week draws to an end, I would like to once again commend those who have been honored for their dedication to public service, as well as those unsung heroes whose daily contributions we could not live without. I also want to thank the companies, associations, and other employee organizations who work to make Public Service Recognition Week such a success and for their commitment in honoring our nation's federal, state, and local government employees.
