Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 107 Part 3.djvu/38

 107 STAT. 1976 PUBLIC LAW 103-165—DEC. 2, 1993 Whereas W. Graham Claytor, Jr., retired in 1977 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Rcdlways, where he also had served as Vice President of Law and President, and was responsible for revamping the corporation's management style, planning, and long-term focus, ana for making the railroad one of the largest and most successful in the Nation; Whereas W. Graham Claytor, Jr., brought his experience as a decisive Naval officer and premier corporate manager to bear on the challenge of shaping a strong, versatile, modern Navy through his appointment by President Jimmy Carter and confirmation by the Senate in 1977 as Secretary of the Navy, and on the challenge of providing for a strong defense within mounting budgetary constraints in 1979 as Deputy Secretary of Defense, as well as serving as Acting Secretary of TVansportation; Whereas W. Graham Claytor, Jr., was appointed President and Chairman of the Board of Amtrak in 1982 at the age of 71, and is directly responsible for the dramatic improvement in the economics, quality, and marketability of rail passenger service that has occurred over the last decade, and in the resurgence of demand for Amtrak service as a means of addressing growing highway and airport congestion across the Nation; Whereas the vision of leadership of W. Graham Claytor, Jr., is responsible for having enabled Amtrak and Congress to withstand zealous attempts to eliminate the Nation's rail passenger system by demanding of his corporation that Amtrak operate as a private business with strict attention to the bottom line and to improvements in efficiency and quality of service, and by engineering a substantial reduction in the corporation's revenue-to-cost ratio and in level of Federal support required to operate the system; Whereas W. Graham Claytor, Jr., has positioned Amtrak to be the Nation's leader in the development of high-speed rail for the next century and has overseen development of the Northeast Corridor as the Nation's premier rail passenger line and a model for high-speed operations across the country; and Whereas the retirement of W. Graham Claytor, Jr., will mean the loss of one of the Nation's most knowledgeable, inspiring, and persuasive voices in government service and of a close, personal fiiend to many in Congress, the Government, and business: Now, therefore, be it

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