HON. BOB CLEMENT

in the House of Representatives

TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1990

• Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Patrick Pouzar, a gentleman from the 5th District of Tennessee who died tragically earlier this month while in service to our country.

• Patrick Pouzar of Nashville was on a mission in the Republic of Chile in his capacity as a senior investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Mr. Pouzar was traveling with another FDA official and representatives from the Chilean Government and a fruit export association when the light aircraft that ferried them to the fruit-producing region of northern Chile disappeared.

• Mr. Pouzar and his party were in Chile at the request of that government to visit several cities and to observe the various security measures that have been taken to ensure the safety of fresh fruit during processing for export.

• Many Americans recall that last spring, the FDA halted the importation of Chilean-grown grapes and other fruit products following the discovery of grapes which contained traces of cyanide. That revelation led the Chilean Government to incorporate new protective and emergency measures to avoid contamination of or tampering with fresh fruit. It was those actions that prompted a format invitation from the Chilean Ambassador last November to the FDA for an inspection tour. Because of Mr. Pouzar's involvement with the fruit-tampering incident last year, he volunteered to undertake this mission.

• Patrick Pouzar's career with the FDA spanned more than 26 years. His professionalism and special dedication to his work earned him tremendous respect from his peers and subordinates and a succession of career promotions. At the time of his death, Mr. Pouzar was stationed at FDA's Nashville office, where he served as the director of a field investigative unit. Although last year's fruit crisis had no direct effect on the operations at the Nashville office, he willingly offered his services in the management of this episode. For his contributions, Mr. Pouzar received FDA's award of merit for outstanding dedication and personal sacrifice in conducting foreign inspections to assure the safety of fruit exported to the United States.

• Mr. Speaker, we often overlook the men and women in our civil service who, like Patrick Pouzar, confront dangerous working conditions to complete their tasks. Their service is integral to promoting the general welfare. Regrettably, it is on occasions when tragedy has befallen one of these individuals that we remember to thank them for their work.

• On behalf of all of the citizens of the 5th District of Tennessee, I want to extend our deepest sympathies to Patrick's wife, Judy, and to his daughters, Paige, Lori, and Emily.                                     
  
      (Mr. Harty was a resident of Silver Spring, Maryland. Mr. Pouzar lived in Nashville, Tennessee.)