Mike Levin: “I rise briefly to extend my best regards to Senator Bill Cohen as he leaves this body after 18 years in the…”

“I rise briefly to extend my best regards to Senator Bill Cohen as he leaves this body after 18 years in the distinguished service. I have had the good fortune of serving with Senator Cohen on the Governmental Affairs Committee for the entire 18 years, and have also served with him on the Subcommittee of Oversight of Government Management on that committee. Sometimes he was the chairman and other times I was the chairman during this 18-year period. But in either case we were always able to work together and I think make a real difference in the management of our Federal programs. Several pieces of legislation stand out for me when I think back over our years of working together: First and foremost would be the Compensation in Contracting Act which Senator Cohen and I cosponsored and got enacted back in 1984. There is a current estimate that perhaps $40 to $50 billion in savings resulted from that law. That was a great piece of work that he had such an instrumental role in.”