[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)] [Senate] [Pages S6834-S6835] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] RETIREMENT OF BARBARA L. MILES Mr. DODD. Mr. President, Barbara Miles, a specialist in financial institutions retired from the Government and Finance Division of the Congressional Research Service, CRS, at the Library of Congress on May 3, 2007. Including 32 years at CRS and her six years in the executive branch as an economist and econometrician at the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the Department of Commerce, Ms. Miles devoted 38 years of service to the American people. CRS and the Congress lost an exceptionally able and dedicated public servant with her departure. A native of California, Ms. Miles earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Occidental College in Los Angeles and a master of economics degree from the University of Washington at Seattle. She began her CRS service in July 1975, as an economist. She was successively promoted throughout her career, attaining the position of Specialist in Housing in 1979, and that of Specialist in Financial Institutions in 1995. Ms. Miles' research was in the general area of housing. She is an expert in a range of housing-related policy issues such as the housing industry and finance, housing supply and prices, housing demand, mortgage interest rates and affordability, and federal policies toward home ownership. Ms. Miles provided close support to numerous members of Congress and their staff, in the form of analysis, confidential memos, and reports during the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s. She worked closely with Congress as it drafted the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 that established the Resolution Trust Corporation, which liquidated the assets of insolvent savings and loans, and reimbursed depositors and other creditors. As her career developed, Ms. Miles also devoted her talents to the study of and analysis of public policy concerning government sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, which are stockholder-owned companies whose Congressional charters call on them to support the secondary mortgage market, especially lower income groups and geographic areas not well served by lenders. She provided ever more insightful and detailed reports on the costs, benefits, and risks of various GSEs, advising Congress on the impact of the GSEs on different sectors of the housing market in particular, as well as on the nation's economy in general. Through regular and ever expanding contacts, she helped to familiarize members and staff with the role of Congress in policy options and oversight of the GSEs. She provided regular analyses of options for legislation and oversight. Her work included in-person briefings, telephone briefings, lectures, seminars, reports, confidential and general distribution memoranda, and CRS reports for Congress. She testified before Congress on [[Page S6835]] many occasions. All of her work in the area of GSE-related oversight and legislation by Congress demonstrated an extremely detailed understanding of the complex, significant policy issues surrounding these institutions and their operations. Her insights and perspective were plain, and understandable; the clarity and rigor of her analyses won praise from members and commendations at CRS. In 2000, Ms. Miles assumed the position of Section Head of the Banking, Securities, Insurance, and Macroeconomics Section within the CRS Government and Finance Division. For the next five years she supervised eight to ten economists, ranging from experienced veterans to newly-appointed staff hired from the private sector, other government agencies, and from distinguished graduate programs. She was generous with her time and offered constructive advice working with staff through multiple revisions to produce the most useful products for members and staff. She challenged veteran staff to think and write in new ways to better serve Congress. She emphasized the need for economists to write clearly and to connect the micro economic foundations of financial markets to macro economic policy to best assist Congress in its duties of scrutiny, oversight, and legislation. Ms. Miles' own broad expertise and depth of experience in her section's wide-ranging policy responsibilities provided her with unique tools during her period as a section manager in CRS. She conducted knowledgeable oversight of section written materials and was regarded by her staff and management as a skilled reviewer whose insistence on the highest standards was matched by her ability as a mentor and educator. She constantly worked with her staff to improve the precision and clarity of their writing and to produce accurate, balanced and insightful analysis of the issues of the day in a timely manner. Ms. Miles led her section to new levels of intellectual excellence and dedicated service to Congress, while gaining the unquestioned respect and genuine affection of her staff. Ms. Miles was an invaluable resource in many ways that did not always attract notice. Throughout the course of her career, other analysts frequently consulted with her for her subject matter and economic expertise. She tirelessly peer-reviewed papers. Ms. Miles managed a long-running CRS cooperative ``Capstone'' project, initiated with students and faculty of the University of Texas, that examined corporate governance policy issues and questions for Congress. She initiated and nurtured a popular ``Brown Bag Luncheon'' series of lecture-discussions on policy issues. She selected topics and used her wide contacts to arrange for speakers for a program that has covered a very broad range of issues, and continues to draw standing-room-only audiences. Ms. Miles was honored by her colleagues when they elected her president of the Congressional Research Employee Association. CRS management recognized Ms. Miles for achieving and exceeding the organizational goals established for her section, leading her staff to new levels of excellence that could not have been attained without her steady and inspired guidance. Her mastery of technical skills, her understanding of and commitment to the mission and goals of the Congressional Research Service, coupled with her ability to communicate these to her staff, helped lead her section to significantly improved organizational performance. After stepping down as section head in 2005, Ms. Miles continued to mentor new staff. In stepping down, she planned to spend more time analyzing and writing about government-sponsored enterprises, housing issues, and financial services. She also took on the role of division reviewer to ensure that all products met the highest CRS standards. Ms. Miles won numerous awards and praise from members during her 32 years at CRS. In 1995, a Senator praised one of her products for ``explaining that the debate between the direct lending and the guaranteed loan program is fundamentally a debate over political philosophy and not a debate over economics. . . . It is important to keep in mind that these economists at the Congressional Research Service are not individuals who work for the Republican Party, nor are they individuals who have some hidden agenda, who have some connection to the banks or the guaranty agencies. They are simply economists who work for the Congressional Research Service and provide us with objective, nonpartisan analyses of the programs that Congress develops.'' In 1998, two Senators and a Representative praised her work on the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. She wrote numerous concise and complete reports for CRS. She also contributed to the Joint Economic Committee's Demographic Change and the Economy of the Nineties with ``Demography and Housing in the 1990s,'' which turned out to be a classic work on housing. Ms. Miles also testified before Congressional committees numerous times on housing and mortgage issues. The members of the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on the Budget were the most frequent beneficiaries of her insights and wisdom. In 1993, she received a CRS special achievement award for ``extraordinary contributions to debate over the student loan program including the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.'' In 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004 she received incentive awards for sustained high performance. In 2001 and 2002 she received honorary superior service awards. Upon her retirement, Ms. Miles received a meritorious service award. Ms. Miles was active in professional associations, conferences and meetings. She participated in conferences sponsored by the Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank, the Chicago Federal Reserve, the American Economics Association, the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, and Women in Housing and Finance. In her private life, Ms. Miles remains an avid bicycle rider who has raced competitively. One of her goals after retirement is to ride a ``century'' or 100 miles. She is also an active member of the Episcopal Church, in which she served with distinction on the Diocesan Council Episcopal of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. For the 32 years of her career at CRS--and her six years of previous federal service--Ms. Miles won the respect, admiration, and thanks of her colleagues. Her steadfast dedication to service to Congress and the nation and her commitment to the highest standards of unbiased and timely response to Congressional requests for information have made a positive and lasting contribution. On behalf of the members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senator Shelby and I express our deep appreciation to Ms. Miles for her many years of dedicated public service and wish her well as she goes on to other endeavors. ____________________