Patty Murray
TRIBUTE TO GENE DODARO

Mr. President, I rise to acknowledge the service of an 
extraordinary public servant who is retiring later this month, U.S. 
Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro of the Government Accountability 
Office.

Gene's service to GAO and Congress is truly remarkable, spanning an 
incredible 52-year career at GAO, with more than half of that time 
spent leading the agency as Chief Operating Officer, Acting Comptroller 
General, or since December 2010, Comptroller General. Gene is just the 
eighth U.S. Comptroller General, and the first to come from within GAO. 
In these and his other roles working at GAO, he has served Congress by 
helping us better manage taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse 
while also improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the critical 
Federal programs and services our constituents depend on.

I have seen the importance of GAO's work firsthand. Over the years, 
Gene and the hard-working staff at GAO have assisted my work in 
overseeing the Committees on Veterans Affairs, Budget, HELP, and 
Appropriations. I can attest how greatly Congress depends on the 
expertise of the staff at GAO. And in the case of Gene Dodaro, few have 
done more to serve this institution and the American people. I want to 
thank and commend Gene for his many decades of excellent public service 
to GAO, the Congress, and the Nation and to wish him and his family all 
the best in his much-deserved retirement.

I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Gene for his dedication 
and service to us and the American people.