Date: 1985-04-03
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I want to pay tribute today to one of the finest public servants who has ever helped this House do the job the people sent us here to accomplish. Just a few weeks ago. at the end of February. the Agriculture Committees chief counsel. Robert M. Bor. retired from the committee to enter the private practice of law. I do not know of any member of any congressional staff who has a finer record. Bob Bors contributions to the Agriculture Committee would take more time to list than the 1minute rule of the House would allow. But I know that every member who served on the committee in the years since he came to us from the Department of Agriculture in 1975 will agree that Bobs knowledge of legislation and agricultural programs made a tremendous contribution to the work of the committee. We needed a counsel who could put our decisions into effective legal form. Bob did that for us. and more. He worked with our members and the staff to make sure that what we wanted to do was done well. His reports gave us the ammunition we needed for effective management of legislation in the House. His experience both in agricultural programs and in the working of the House gave us the backup that made our committee both stronger and better respected. And one thing moreBob Bor has been one of the hardest working men most of us have ever known. When there was a job to do. he was there until it was done and done well. I know that Members of Congress are not the only people who are grateful for the work Bob Bor did on the hill. Many members of the broad agricultural community who have worked with him through the years on legislative and other problems have reason to admire his skill and to be grateful for his dedication. Beyond all this. those of us who worked with Bob through these past years have come to know him as a man you can trust and depend on. I do not know whether there is any higher tribute you can pay a friend than to say that aboutand I know we all say it about Bob. Bob is a native of New York. a graduate of New York University and Columbia University Law School. an Army veteran of World War II. and a man who is lucky in his family of Judy. his wife. his sons and daughter. and his grandson the television actor. Before joining the Agriculture Committee staff in 1975. Bob served for many years at the Department of Agriculture. In the USDAs general counsels office. he became an expert and experienced hand at matters dealing mainly with foreign agricultural affairs and domestic commodity programs. There are many reasons we will miss Bob at the Agriculture Committee. We will miss his wise counsel. We will miss his calm and his command of the complex affairs we deal with. We will miss his ability to work with men and women from every field and from many countries. Most of all. we will miss his companionship and his friendship. If there is a saving grace to Bobs departure. it is the fact that we know he will still be active in the field of Agriculture. I and other members of the Agriculture Committee. and the staff people who worked with him. wish Bob well in his new career in the private practice of law. I know it will be a successful careerbecause I know Bob Bor.