Volume 167, No. 110, covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress (2021 – 2022), was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO JASON SUSLAVICH” mentioning Dan Sullivan was published in the Senate section on pages S4768-S4769 on June 24.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators’ salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO JASON SUSLAVICH
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I would like recognize an important member of my staff, my former director of national security policy, Jason Suslavich. I, along with the rest of my team was saddened to have Jason leave our office this February.
While born in Winchester, MA, Jason was quick to embrace the Alaskan spirit. Up north, Jason traded his beach walks for hikes and his golf clubs for a fishing rod. Like a true Alaskan, he loved his wild Alaska seafood and overall good cooking and could talk for hours about his favorite dishes at his favorite restaurants throughout the State. One of his favorites was the osso bucco at Orso–and could speak tirelessly about it. And did.
In high school, Jason was the all-State wrestling champion and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. His dedication and tenacity expanded beyond the wrestling mat into his academics. At John Hopkins University, Jason majored in international studies, which he has applied throughout his career.
Jason’s work in Alaska politics began over a decade ago in Congressman Don Young’s office. As the Congressman’s legislative assistant, Jason laid the foundation for his career in the Senate, building productive coalitions and facilitating bipartisan collaboration.
One year into my first term. Jason joined our office. At this time, I was still learning the ropes in the Senate. His work ethic, experience, and dependability made my life a lot easier and made him an irreplaceable asset to my team.
Jason was good-natured, a team player, and a legendary prankster. From day-to-day tricks to years-long plots, Jason was committed to the craft of mischief–just ask his nemesis, Mike Anderson.
Jason’s contributions to our office–and to the State of Alaska, particularly building on our three pillars of military might–were enormous. His leadership lives on with Team Sullivan. He is greatly missed.
If this past year has taught us anything, it is the importance of trusting our intuition. After 13 years working for Alaska s delegation, Jason has decided to chart a new journey–working in the aerospace sector. He has loved space since he was a child. In this next chapter, Jason can dedicate time to his great passions: space exploration, the strength of our Nation, the Boston Red Sox, and most importantly, his beautiful and brilliant wife Sarah.
Jason may not be working in my office, but he will always have a home in the Last Frontier. His dedication to the State has forever solidified him as a welcome friend and honorary Alaskan.
Please join me in wishing Jason much success and happiness in the future.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I rise today in appreciation of a lifelong Rhode Islander and a healthcare trailblazer, Dr. Al Puerini. We wish him well in the next chapter of life.
Al Puerini was born, raised, and trained in Rhode Island. After graduating from his beloved Providence College and training in family medicine at Brown University, Al began his practice in Cranston, RI, in the early eighties. He excelled in his work. He soon began teaching family medicine at Brown’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine and was elected a fellow at the American Academy of Family Physicians.
But his revolutionary work began in the mid-1990s, when Al helped to found and then lead the Rhode Island Primary Care Physicians Corporation as it embarked on an important mission: to reimagine the way we deliver healthcare. Al and his RIPCPC colleagues combined the talents of over 150 primary care physicians and over 200 specialists and negotiated new contracts with local health insurers. Instead of following the fee-for-service treadmill that encourages doctors to shuffle as many people through their offices as possible, these new contracts rewarded providers for the health of their patients. They also aimed to increase collaboration and communication among specialists, providers, and hospitals to improve health outcomes.
As these contracts proved effective, Al and his board decided to think bigger. In 2014, they joined with Care New England to help form Integra Community Care Network, the largest accountable care organization, ACO, in Rhode Island. The Affordable Care Act’s accountable care organizations take the principle Al had pursued for years–paying providers based on the health of their patients–and put it to use in the Medicare Program. At Integra, primary care providers, hospitals, specialists, extended care providers, and others all work together to achieve more coordinated, accountable care. As someone who fought for ACOs in the ACA, I was thrilled to see Rhode Islanders step up to that challenge.
Integra now serves more than 1 in 10 patients in Rhode Island. It has been a national success. Beyond Medicare patients, it works with major private insurers and Medicaid. It has earned a 95-percent quality rating from the Federal Government and saved over $20 million in healthcare costs since 2015. Integra now stands a model for ACOs across the country.
Even as he built a new national model of care, Al never stopped serving his patients, his community, and his beloved alma mater, Providence College. He maintained his Cranston private practice for over three decades. He was recognized as Rhode Island’s “Top Doc” twice over that span. He was named a Rhode Island Academy of Family Physicians Physician of the Year in 2017. And he sustained a passion for sports medicine, which he cultivated as the Friars’ head team physician from 1988 on. He even earned a spot in the Providence College Hall of Fame 2 years ago.
Dr. Puerini, congratulations on your well-deserved retirement. You have shown us how to change the way health care is delivered and proven to the Nation that the triple aim of better care, lower costs, and happier and healthier patients is achievable. Thank you for everything you did to improve the care of Rhode Islanders and for the care you personally provided to so patients through the years. You made a tremendous difference.
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