Public Service Recognition Week

PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 03, 2006)

* Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, this week marks ``Public Service Recognition Week,'' offering our Nation the dual opportunities to reflect on the richness of the public workforce and the upcoming challenges that it must confront.

* The landscape of our Nation is not just dotted, but layered with the work and faces of our public servants. It is easy to forget, but Americans are served every single day by public servants at the Federal, State, county and city levels, The efforts of teachers, laborers and police officers blend into the fabric of our lives seamlessly, The bravery of our Coast Guard saving people from rooftops, doctors guarding us against the advancement of epidemic disease and the men and women in the military protecting our Nation stand out as acts of true heroes. These people are all contributing to a common vision of making our Nation a better place to live. They are all public servants.

* While this week is a celebration of the public servant, it would be a lost opportunity not to use this focus to address an ominous problem. Our public workforce is aging quickly and in the next 10 years all sectors will face a great ``retirement tsunami.'' In the Washington, DC region, 60 percent of the Federal workforce will be eligible for retirement with ninety percent of its senior executives reaching retirement age. Across the Nation, State and local governments are experiencing similar retirement forecasts.

* The race to replenish these lost workers and their institutional experience is proving formidable. Alarming statistics suggest that the next generation of American workers is turning a blind eye to public service. Just 27 percent of young people say that someone has asked them to consider government employment, an 11-point decrease since 2002. Further, only 3-in-10 young Americans say that they would work in the public sector rather than the private sector. While we have begun to acknowledge the cliff we are preparing to walk off, I'm not certain we understand its true depth.

* This challenge requires a new appeal to the American worker. A revival of public service is necessary, one that flows through corporate boardrooms and college hallways. President John F. Kennedy summoned a generation of people to give of themselves to the common good. Now is the time to seek a similar commitment.

* I believe in public service and in people who contribute to an effort greater than themselves. As we progress deeper into this new century facing new and sometimes unforeseen challenges, our Nation will have to rely heavily upon the strengths of our public servants. We must be ready to answer that call.

http://thomas.loc.gov