May 28, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 89 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E679-E680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING ELLIOTT BRANCH ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE 
                         DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 28, 2019

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor my constituent, 
Mr. Elliott Branch, who is retiring from the Department of the Navy 
after more than 34 years of faithful service to our nation, culminating 
in his service as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 
Acquisition and Procurement for the past 10 years.

[[Page E680]]

  Mr. Branch started his federal service in 1978 at the Philadelphia 
Naval Shipyard as a Contracting Intern with the Naval Regional 
Procurement Office before transitioning to Naval Air Systems (NAVAIR) 
Command as a Contract Specialist in 1980. While serving at NAVAIR, he 
supported HARM, HARPOON, T-45 and F-14 Weapon Systems. From 1986 to 
1993, Mr. Branch served as Branch Head and Deputy Division Director for 
Sea Combat Systems, Undersea Weapons and Shipbuilding at Naval Sea 
Systems Command (NAVSEA).
  In 1993, he became a member of the SES as the Director, Shipbuilding 
Contracts Division, at NAVSEA. He went on to serve as Executive 
Director, Acquisition and Business Management for the Navy, responsible 
for policy and oversight of contract operations throughout the entire 
Department. While in this position, he also served as Project Executive 
Officer, Acquisition Related Business Systems. In this role, he was 
responsible for the formulation and execution of a multi-year effort 
transforming the Navy from a paper-based to an electronic acquisition 
system.
  From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Branch spent time in the private sector where 
he specialized in acquisition and project management education as well 
as training and consulting for the federal workforce and its associated 
contractors. He also served as the Chief Procurement Officer for the 
Government of the District of Columbia as the agency head responsible 
for procurement operations, policy, and for formulating legislative 
proposals for local and Congressional consideration.
  In 2006, Mr. Branch became the first civilian Director of Contracts 
at the Naval Sea Systems Command where he led one of the largest and 
most complex procurement organizations in the Federal government for 
two years. As the senior civilian for contracting at NAVSEA, Mr. Branch 
was responsible for the contractual oversight of the Nation's most 
complex shipbuilding and weapons systems procurement programs. His 
duties involved the obligation and expenditure of approximately $25 
billion annually.
  Elliott Branch will finish his career after spending the past 10 
years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Acquisition and 
Procurement in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 
Research, Development and Acquisition. He has served as the senior 
career civilian responsible for acquisition and contracting policy that 
governs the operation of the Navy's world-wide, multibillion-dollar 
acquisition system. Mr. Branch was the principal civilian advisor to 
the Navy Acquisition Executive for acquisition and procurement matters, 
serving as the Department of the Navy's Competition Advocate General 
and is the leader of the Navy's contracting, purchasing, and government 
property communities.
  I am proud to represent Mr. Branch in Congress, and I thank him and 
his family for his honorable service to our nation with the United 
States Navy. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing 
Mr. Branch fair winds and following seas as he concludes a 
distinguished career of public service.

                          ____________________