S382 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 14, 2009 

passion for research with his commitment to patient care. He joined the 

Surgical Service of the Veteran’s Affairs Boston Healthcare System in 1976, 

where he spent the rest of his career. 

He rose to become Chief of Surgery at 

the West Roxbury VA Medical Center 

in 1984, Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1992, and Professor of 

Surgery at Harvard Medical School in 

1987. 

Early in his tenure at the VA, Dr. 

Khuri realized the need for a methodology to assist surgeons in managing 

the health of the heart during 

cardiothoracic surgery. In his quest to 

identify a metabolic indicator of intraoperative myocardial ischemia, Dr. 

Khuri invented and patented a probe 

that would measure the pH of the heart 

muscle, a device currently in the final 

stages of research and development. 

In addition to his work in surgical 

heart protection, Dr. Khuri was deeply 

interested in improving the quality of 

care for all surgical patients. In 1978, at 

West Roxbury VA Medical Center, he 

established the first automated data 

management system in a surgical intensive care unit in the Northeast. 

Today, the electronic patient record in 

the VA is by far the most advanced and 

comprehensive electronic medical 

records system in the world. 

Dr. Khuri also led a unique national 

effort within the VA which established 

the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program in 1994. The program is 

now recognized by the surgical community as the standard for the comparative assessment of quality of surgical 

care and for continuous improvement 

in surgery. This program has now become the model for a joint effort between the VA and the American College of Surgeons to incorporate data in 

the private sector to see that all patients receive the best care possible. 

In the course of his outstanding career, Dr. Khuri achieved national and 

international prominence. His research 

laboratory at West Roxbury has been 

continuously funded for 24 years and 

has trained more than 60 residents and 

postgraduate students in applied research. He was a member of numerous 

professional organizations, including 

the prestigious American Surgical Association, and he served on and chaired 

many regional and national committees, including a 3-year term as president of the Massachusetts Affiliate of 

the American Heart Association. 

Dr. Khuri was the author of more 

than 200 peer-reviewed publications. He 

was also a regular reviewer for more 

than ten scientific journals, and served 

on the editorial board of the Journal of 

Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 

He was the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the 1998 

Frank Brown Berry Prize, which honors an outstanding physician in the 

federal health care system each year. 

Just days after his death, Dr. Khuri 

was named the recipient of the 2008 Ernest Amory Codman Award for improvements in the safety of care to the 

public. 

As a Palestinian American, he felt 

the pain of the conflict in the Middle 

East firsthand, and he devoted much of 

his life to seeking peace in the region. 

He worked with groups in the Boston 

area to create and sustain dialogue between Israelis, Palestinians, and Jewish and Arab Americans. 

Dr. Khuri embodied the American 

story of hope, opportunity and service. 

He built a remarkably successful professional life as a public servant, and 

he also built a beautiful and loving 

home. His hobbies ranged from carpentry to photography to actively serving in his church. His love of life, his 

profound humility, his steadfast faith, 

and his eternally optimistic outlook 

will continue to inspire all those whose 

lives he touched. He is deeply missed 

by his wife and three children, his four 

grandchildren, his mother and brother, 

his many loving family members, his 

friends and patients, and the community he loved to serve and served so 

well.∑

f 

TRIBUTE TO RICH ARENBERG 

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, as the Nation celebrates a new beginning by welcoming a new administration to town 

next week, my office will be saying 

goodbye to a longtime trusted adviser 

and friend. Today, I pay tribute to my 

legislative director, Rich Arenberg, 

who will retire from Congress after 34 

years to take a teaching position at 

Brown University. 

In the nearly 15 years that Rich has 

led the legislative team in my office, 

he has provided invaluable guidance on 

innumerable issues that have arisen. 

No doubt, he has a detailed record— 

likely in chart form—of the legislative 

back-and-forth behind each bill, if not 

each vote, we have confronted together. And when Rich announced his 

retirement to the legislative staff last 

month, the number of long faces 

around the table spoke volumes about 

his skills. 

Rich has an encyclopedic knowledge 

of Senate history, procedure, and protocol. He has been a mentor to countless Hill staffers, as well as a thoughtful, reasonable, skilled adviser to the 

Members he has served. He is a gifted 

storyteller who enlightens and entertains my office with anecdotes of his 

decades on the Hill. And above all, he 

is an incredibly decent human being, 

devoted to his work, loyal to the people 

around him, with a passion for life. 

Rich takes a distinct interest not 

only in understanding the policy implications of the bills that came before 

the Senate but also in appreciating the 

subtleties of each vote the significance 

of procedural votes and the connotations of each Senator’s stance. Rich 

revels in the obscure though sometimes 

critical anomaly: for example, he often 

tracked which Senators reversed their 

positions between or during votes. 

With his competence, focus, and passion, Rich has endeared himself to 

those who had the pleasure of working 

with or near him. Beyond his personal 

qualities, he has distinguished himself 

with a remarkable record of legislative 

contributions. Rich and I arrived in the 

Senate at the same time following the 

election of 1978. As a staffer for Senator Paul Tsongas, whom he had previously worked for in the House of Representatives, Rich was initiated in the 

Senate in a pursuit that also dominated my first year: securing loan 

guarantees for Chrysler that helped 

save the company and had an enormous 

positive impact on the vibrancy of our 

domestic auto industry. He contributed 

significantly to the Alaska Lands Act, 

enacted in 1980, which remains of the 

most significant pieces of environmental legislation of the last several 

decades. 

Beginning in 1984, he served as chief 

of staff to Senator George Mitchell. His 

work to investigate the Iran-Contra affair could fill a book—and, in fact, Rich 

helped Senator William Cohen and 

then-Majority Leader Mitchell write 

‘‘Men of Zeal,’’ a book detailing the 

1987 Iran-Contra hearings in which 

Rich played a critical role. As a special 

assistant for national security affairs 

for Senator Mitchell in the early 1990s, 

Rich handled a variety of intelligence 

matters, and his work required extensive travel around the world. 

Since joining my staff in 1994, Rich 

has contributed to legislation protecting the Great Lakes, improving 

treatment for drug abuse, and preserving American jobs. Rich has been 

on the front lines of legislative efforts 

that have sometimes spanned years. He 

has been at my side at the crack of 

dawn each Wednesday morning for 

weekly radio interviews, at the ready 

to answer questions. His performance 

reflects a deep respect for the Senate 

and an understanding that the root of 

senatorial accomplishment is cooperation and collaboration. 

He has worked long hours with a zeal 

for legislative maneuvering matched 

only by his passion for the Red Sox and 

exceeded only by his love for his family. I was honored that he and his wonderful wife Linda chose my Capitol 

hideaway as the site to celebrate their 

wedding, a joyful day that included a 

spirited procession through the Senate 

building and Capitol subway. And when 

his Red Sox won the World Series or 

when his beloved cocker spaniel had a 

new litter of puppies or when his sons 

or daughter were in the midst of an adventure, there was a glint in his eye 

and a smile would break across his 

face. 

But there is no doubt that Rich’s engaging stories, insightful observations, 

and flair for humor will be a treasure 

trove for the students who are fortunate enough to be in his classroom. 

They will learn the ins and outs of the 

Senate from the best. They’ll learn 

about Rich’s ‘‘tilted deck’’ theory, 

which predicts that the Senate will 

take until the eve of adjournment or 

weekend recess to act, and then, if it 


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January 14, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S383 

fails to do so, will inevitably take until 

the eve of the next deadline to try 

again. And I am willing to predict that 

after a semester with Rich, his students will know well that a gorilla in 

an idiom should always weigh 800 

pounds and that they will pay close attention to the President’s appraisal of 

the State of our Union. 

For one more glimpse of Rich’s great 

accrued wisdom, look at his office. Inside Rich’s office, he has posted a quote 

from Confucious. It reads: ‘‘When you 

know a thing, to hold that you know it; 

and when you do not know a thing, to 

allow that you do not know it—this is 

knowledge.’’ 

That is the brand of excellence that 

Rich brought to all his work in the 

Senate, and that approach is why he 

has been such a trusted and important 

adviser to me, as well as to other Senators. And when he does not know a 

thing, he figures it out. Rich, thank 

you for your work on behalf of the people of the State of Michigan, mastering 

their issues, applying your legislative 

skills to their benefit. Thank you for 

your service to the Nation in the Senate, advancing the spirit of thoughtful 

bipartisanship that makes this body 

work. Thank you helping me navigate 

the murky waters of Senate procedure 

and precedent for all these years. And 

thank you for your friendship and for 

being—day-in and day-out—the kind of 

staff member that a Senator can be 

proud of. 

f 

IDAHOANS SPEAK OUT ON HIGH 

ENERGY PRICES 

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, in midJune, I asked Idahoans to share with 

me how high energy prices are affecting their lives, and they responded by 

the hundreds. The stories, numbering 

well over 1,200, are heartbreaking and 

touching. While energy prices have 

dropped in recent weeks, the concerns 

expressed remain very relevant. To respect the efforts of those who took the 

opportunity to share their thoughts, I 

am submitting every e-mail sent to me 

through an address set up specifically 

for this purpose to the CONGRESSIONAL

RECORD. This is not an issue that will 

be easily resolved, but it is one that deserves immediate and serious attention, and Idahoans deserve to be heard. 

Their stories not only detail their 

struggles to meet everyday expenses 

but also have suggestions and recommendations as to what Congress can 

do now to tackle this problem and find 

solutions that last beyond today. I ask 

unanimous consent to have today’s letters printed in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the 

RECORD, as follows: 

I am a college student in Pocatello at ISU 

in the Physician Assistant Program. My husband is a real estate agent and we own a few 

rentals in town. I wanted to comment on the 

effect that rising energy prices have had on 

the real estate market. Generally spring and 

summer are boom time in Idaho’s real estate 

market. But we have noticed a sharp downturn in the market in Pocatello this spring. 

There are a glut of homes on the market and 

nothing is moving. It is as if everyone is 

holding their breath, glad to have a home, 

and not ready to move. I am sure things will 

move, but prices have dropped significantly. 

I am glad to hear you are concerned about 

this. Both my husband and I agree. Drill 

here, drill now. If we have untapped energy 

reserves in the United States . . . we are 

fools! We need to be accessing our own resources, creating jobs, growing our economy, 

and saving ourselves money. I am sure we 

can do it in a responsible way with minimal 

effect on the environment. I do not want to 

damage our environment, but if it costs us 

our economic liberty to do it . . . I say drill. 

ANNIE and JASON DIXON. 

Thank you for your email. Most citizens do 

not feel that Washington is aware of our concerns or listening . . . and here you are asking . . . thank you. 

To Whom It May Concern: 

Our family is a 5th generation Idaho family. We have worked hard for 40 years to 

teach our family to accept responsibility for 

themselves and their success. There are no 

free-loaders in our family. Now, because of 

the current economic trend, we are all very 

concerned about our future in spite of our 

hard work and sacrifices. Higher energy 

prices have caused concern in every corner of 

our lives and every time we go to the pump 

or pay our utility bills our concerns are 

heightened and reaffirmed. Fear is a great 

motivator . . . unfortunately it is a negative 

motivator and we are seeing the results dramatically. 

We have seen the negative impact in every 

household in our family. Our son-in-law is a 

very successful Realtor and his business is 

off 50% from last year. Another son-in-law 

has his own construction company. His business is off 40% from last year. My son and I 

have a very successful commercial real estate business and typically earn over $400,000 

a year. We have only had one closing this 

year. Buyers are hesitant to move forward 

because of the current economic concerns. 

Our youngest son was planning on starting 

his own business using the degree he obtained from college but now he feels he must 

find employment elsewhere. Another son 

began building his own home this winter and 

is now questioning whether he should move 

into his dream home or sell it and find something much smaller. 

These are not minor inconveniences. These 

are life changing concerns and we can do 

nothing to change or control them. 

The economic status of our country is 

critically out of control because of poor 

judgment and planning on the part of the 

policy makers in Washington. Because of 

years of doing nothing to plan and prepare 

for the future the security and success of our 

entire family is now being threatened. We 

are fearful, we are disappointed and we are 

angry. 

It is alarming to think that the policies of 

our government leaders have caused such a 

life altering situation. Wouldn’t you think 

that the country who championed capitalism 

would understand the law of supply and demand? Wouldn’t you think that the brightest 

and best that have been sent to Washington 

would have seen this crisis coming? 

We do not blame the oil companies. The 

government has kept their hands tied for 

years. We blame you . . . the policy makers 

and leaders of this nation. Now the light of 

truth is shining brightly and we can all see 

the results of listening to the special interest groups who only care about their own 

selfish interests. Washington has put this 

country and its citizens in a perilous and 

fearful situation. Fear leads to anger. Anger 

leads to anarchy. 

It is time for Washington to stop ‘‘looking’’ at the situation like spectators and 

start ‘‘fixing’’ the problems with real solutions that work. It is time for Washington to 

wake up to the reality of where we are at and 

the impact of their neglect. Washington has 

neglected reason and ignored the writing on 

the wall. At what price? 

Americans can make this country strong 

and independent again if the bureaucrats and 

the special interest groups will just get out 

of our way. 

We are very grateful that we have our faith 

and our family. We will weather this unnecessary storm but what about the rest of the 

people who call this nation home? I guess if 

Washington fails to stop the insanity we can 

always feed our children spotted owls and 

polar bears. 

Please Senator Crapo. Do not let us down. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. If we do 

not do something now who knows what the 

next crisis will be and how far this country 

will fall into chaos. 

DENNIS and JANETTE STEVENS, Idaho Falls. 

I am 22 years old and when I first started 

driving only a short 7 years ago, at that time 

it cost me 35–40 dollars to fill my truck, 

today it cost just over 100 dollars. Do the 

math that is a huge increase and most of 

which has been in the past few years. I am 

currently spending 400+ dollars a month on 

gas. This new cost is taking a big hit on me 

and my savings account which I am relying 

on since I will never see all that money I pay 

into social security. You guys in Congress 

just don’t seem to get how angry the American people are at your lack of caring on how 

we feel. Remember we are the ones who 

elected you to represent us not your own interests or lobbyists. Please start doing your 

jobs and look out for the interests of the 

greatest country in the world. Drill for our 

own oil now. I know it will not be an immediate help but imagine if we do nothing, we 

apparently never learned from the 70s. 

Thanks for at least asking our opinion and 

please relay the messages to the rest of Congress. 

ANDREW. 

I’m a bit disappointed in the way you have 

phrased your plea. You are only asking for 

horror stories and looking for support to find 

ways to decrease fuel costs and increase fuel 

supplies. I am affected by fuel costs as much 

as the next person, but I try to look at the 

larger picture and I wish you would to. Easily available and cheap fossil fuels has been 

a major problem for our country and for humanity in general. It got us through the industrial revolution and was responsible, in 

no small way, for much that is good in our 

society. Unfortunately, it also causes much 

harm. Some examples: 

(1) Global warming 

(2) International policy driven by a need to 

ensure a continuing oil supply 

(3) The loss of great public transportation 

systems, such as the light rail system that 

served the treasure valley for decades 

(4) The loss of our freight rail system in 

favor of an enormously powerful trucking industry that is much more costly to the environment and dangerous to the public. 

I am sure the list could go on. 

So, I propose that we look at the opportunities created by high oil prices—the opportunity to develop alternative energy sources, 

the opportunity to emphasize public transportation, the opportunity to begin weaning 

ourselves from dependence on foreign 

sources of fuel. I know that my opinion is 

not popular, but I believe we have not yet 

got to the point where fuel costs are painful 


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