Orrin Hatch: “I rise to join with Senator Baucus in commending Mr. Ahearn for his service. Over the years, Mr. Ahearn's impressive…”

“I rise to join with Senator Baucus in commending Mr. Ahearn for his service. Over the years, Mr. Ahearn's impressive portfolio of work also examined major U.S. trading partner policies. Early on in his career, for example, he was a lead CRS expert on the U.S.-Japan trade and economic relationship during heightened trade tensions between our two countries. From September 1993 to August 1994, he worked for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, USTR, to serve as Director of Trade Strategy for Japan and China. More recently, Ray became the ``go to'' CRS analyst on the U.S.-EU trade and economic relationship, writing reports and confidential memoranda and consulting Congress on numerous topics, including on the EU's preferential trade agreements and regulatory issues. Mr. Ahearn has been especially adept at examining complex issues in international economics of immediate importance to Congress and making his analysis accessible to an audience that approaches the issues with varying degrees of understanding. This skill has played an especially critical role in successfully conveying to Congress the complex, multidimensional challenges associated with globalization. For example, in 2009, Mr. Ahearn wrote a CRS report titled The Global Economic Downturn and Protectionism that addressed the issue of the perceived and real growth of trade restrictions by the United States and its trading partners in response to the global economic crisis that emerged in 2008.…”