[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 25, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     A TRIBUTE TO ERIC DAVID NEWSOM

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to honor one of my closest 
friends and trusted advisers, Eric Newsom. After nearly 15 years as a 
senior Senate staff Member, Eric has returned to the State Department. 
He is now the senior adviser to Under Secretary of State for 
International Security Affairs, Lynn Davis. I have spoken to Under 
Secretary Davis. I know that she is aware of how fortunate she is to be 
gaining somebody of Eric's dedication, his extraordinary professional 
experience, his unsurpassed knowledge of international security and 
foreign policy issues--a person who seems to have the ability crossing 
these very complicated and very complex areas, an ability really 
unmatched in my experience.
  In fact, in my 19 years, now almost 20 years in the Senate, I have 
not known anyone who has accepted the responsibility and challenge of 
public service with more selfless devotion than Eric Newsom. From his 
first posting as a Foreign Service officer, he went on to serve as a 
staff member for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Later he was 
the minority staff director of the Select Intelligence Committee. He 
was legislative director in my office, and served as the clerk of the 
Foreign Operations Subcommittee. In all of these things Eric served the 
U.S. Government and the American people with the utmost loyalty and 
distinction.
  During those 25 years, Eric's contribution to shaping the foreign 
policy of this country we love so much was remarkable. At the State 
Department during the 1970's, he served brilliantly in helping guide 
United States arms control, nonproliferation, and defense strategy. 
During the 1980's when the cold war was still in force, Eric mastered 
the intricacies of American intelligence policies and programs. I 
remember going head to head with some of the high-level officials in 
the Reagan administration in debate with Eric at my side when we 
debated everything from Iran-Contra to our foreign policy. His 
persistence, and his mastery of the facts were indispensable, facts 
that were presented in a dispassionate and objective fashion.
  Since the end of the cold war he has been equally effective in 
helping to shape our foreign policy priorities. Since 1989 when I 
became chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, he was at my 
side helping me implement an agenda consistent with the realities of 
the changed world of the 1990's, when global problems such as 
overpopulation, environmental degradation, and weapons proliferation 
emerged as the most urgent threats to our national security.
  Guiding the foreign operations bill through Congress can be an 
extraordinarily difficult--I might say it can also be a thankless task. 
It is not the most popular bill to bring before this Senate. But Eric 
never failed me. His leadership in that process is going to be missed 
by everybody in the Appropriations Committee, members and staff alike, 
as we attempt to do the job without him this year and in the years to 
come.
  He and I have been through so much together. We even had a few close 
calls. I remember one helicopter ride through the mountains of 
Guatemala. We were going through the fog. I said to our Ambassador, ``I 
hope the radar works.'' He said, ``Radar? What radar?'' We looked at 
the place where the radar is supposed to be. There is a big hole in the 
cockpit. There were a couple of wires out. I swear that one had a Band-
Aid around it.
  We put on our bravest faces, and just as we broke out of the fog 
heading straight to a cliff, the pilot moved around that. And then the 
pilot and copilot argued about who was at fault. All I wanted to do was 
get back to Earth. We made it. We are both able to laugh about it 
today.
  When my staff and I gathered to say goodbye to Eric, it was 
especially moving to see how many of them regarded Eric as a mentor, as 
staff member after staff member remembers how much he had taught them. 
There is a time for everything, he told us that day; a time to stay, a 
time to move on. He quoted Ecclesiastes. The words he spoke were as 
fitting as any he could have chosen. Though he has moved on, he is 
always going to be a good friend I know I can turn to for counsel as I 
do to this day.
  It is hard in many ways for me to see him go. But I am so grateful 
for all he has done and so proud of all he has accomplished.
  I am pleased that he is going to complete his Government service in 
the State Department where he began working on the arms control issues 
and foreign policy issues he knows so well and cares about so deeply. 
To this day, I remember as I was deciding who should come to be my 
foreign policy adviser sitting on the back deck of my home and getting 
a telephone call from former Secretary Cyrus Vance who said he almost 
never made such a call but he knew me well, and trusted my judgment, 
and wanted to urge me to hire Eric Newsom because of Eric's service for 
him, and for a previous Secretary of State. He had shown not only the 
competence, but the honesty, and the abilities that stood out so much 
to former Secretary of State Vance's mind. I found that if anything 
Secretary Vance understated the case.
  So I am delighted that we had the chance for him to be here in the 
Senate. In fact, when he left for the State Department, we lost one of 
our finest staff. All of us who worked with him are going to miss him 
dearly. But I am delighted for the State Department and for the 
administration that they have his service. And just as importantly, I 
am delighted for the United States of America that we have such people 
in our staffs here in the Senate, in the State Department, in so many 
other departments who work selflessly, tirelessly, and with great 
expertise for America.
  I yield the floor.


                              eric newsom

  Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, every Senator in this chamber knows the 
high value of staff but their contribution is often hidden from the 
public. Today I want to join my colleague, Senator Leahy, in providing 
this public recognition to Eric Newsom, who is departing after working 
nearly 14 years in the Senate.
  I came to know Eric, who has served Senator Leahy's staff for many 
years, when he took over as Staff Director to the Foreign Operations 
Subcommittee on the Appropriations Committee. I know that Eric takes 
pride in his yearly efforts to craft a foreign aid budget which 
furthered United States security as well as poverty alleviation and 
economic development. He did so despite the increasing fiscal restraint 
imposed upon our foreign aid spending.
  Eric leaves his position with the Committee to work for the 
Department of State as a senior advisor to Undersecretary Lynn Davis. I 
expect that Eric will approach this new challenge with his typical 
professionalism and wish him the best of success. And I would like to 
publicly thank him for his efforts on behalf of the Appropriations 
Committee over these past 5 years.


                     in recognition of eric newsom

  Mrs. MURRAY. I am happy to have this opportunity to express my 
appreciation for the fine work done by Mr. Eric Newsom, who has served 
with distinction as Staff Director of the Senate Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. I have recently learned that Eric 
is leaving that position to work for the Department of State, and I 
know he will be greatly missed.
  While foreign aid has never been popular, it has served our Nation 
well. As guardian on the staff level of the foreign aid budget, Eric's 
job was not an easy one. He had to constantly work with a budget under 
attack from all directions, and yet under great demand from just as 
many others. He shepherded the foreign aid spending bill through the 
last years of the tumultuous 1980's, when Congress battled with the 
administration over military aid to nations like El Salvador and to the 
Contras in Nicaragua. Eric was instrumental in forging a consensus to 
condition military aid to El Salvador, ultimately paving the way for a 
peace accord.
  It was during that time, too, that United States family planning aid 
came under fire from the White House. Fortunately, women and families 
around the globe had an ally in Senator Leahy and Eric Newsom, who used 
the Foreign Operations Subcommittee to preserve that very important 
funding.
  Under Senator Leahy's guidance, Eric has helped to shape our Nation's 
foreign aid priorities in the aftermath of the cold war. He had to 
balance competing interests as the United States began to reach out to 
nations in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, while preserving 
aid to our traditional allies such as Israel and Egypt.
  Since coming to the Senate, I have had the occasion to work with Eric 
personally in addressing concerns my constituents in Washington State 
have had with the Russian aid program, among other issues. After many 
months of examining ways to strengthen the United Staes Russian Aid 
Program, I believe we are beginning to make true progress in this area, 
and I could not have gotten this far without the support of Senator 
Leahy, Eric and the Subcommittee.
  In areas ranging from aid to improve the status of women worldwide to 
providing reconstruction air to the people of El Salvador, Eric has 
been a champion of justice. I wish him well in his new position, and I 
am certain he will be a true asset at the Department of State.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I would like to wish Eric Newsom well 
as he leaves the Senate to take on new responsibilities at the 
Department of State.
  For many years, I and my staff have worked closely with Eric on the 
Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee where he served as clerk 
to Senator Leahy. Eric is a devoted public servant who has ably served 
Senator Leahy, the Appropriations Committee, and the Senate. He is 
thoughtful, dedicated, and hard-working. While working on the 
Appropriations Committee, Eric has skillfully assisted Senator Leahy in 
shepherding the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill through the 
Senate. It's a difficult and complicated bill which Senator Leahy has 
been able to successfully guide through the Senate, in part, because 
Eric understands the complexities of the Senate and U.S. foreign policy 
so well.
  The Senate's loss is truly the State Department's gain. I wish Eric 
well in his future endeavors.


                         tribute to eric newsom

  Mr. DeCONCINI. Mr. President, it is always with a mix of happiness 
and regret when we bid farewell to a friend and former staff member. On 
the one hand, we are pleased that he or she has been given an 
opportunity to serve the country in a new position, further a career, 
and widen horizons. At the same time, we regret the loss to Congress--
and the Senate in particular--of a skilled and innovative legislative 
team member.
  It is in this vein that I join my friend from Vermont, Senator Leahy, 
in congratulating Eric Newsom on his new position as Deputy Assistant 
Secretary of State for nonproliferation issues at the State Department. 
Eric, who initially came from the executive branch in 1979, has been a 
Senate asset for nearly 15 years. Clearly, the Senate's loss is State's 
gain--a gain which some of us around here believe State can well use.
  It has been a pleasure to work with Eric in a number of his 
capacities, but especially in his role as staff director of the Foreign 
Operations Appropriations Subcommittee. It is never easy to assemble 
and then pass a foreign aid bill. It has been particularly difficult in 
the past decade or so because of ideological and other battles. 
However, in light of the fact the Congress has not enacted a foreign 
aid authorization bill since 1985, the role of Foreign Ops and the 
annual appropriations bill has taken on even greater importance.
  Whether it has been on the big issues such as aid to Russia, the 
Freedom Support Act, Israeli loan guarantees, and Egyptian debt 
foregiveness, or the relatively smaller--and often more parochial--
issues such as prohibiting the sale of Stinger missiles to Persian Gulf 
nations, restricting aid to Kenya, or ensuring that AID understands 
what is the intent of Congress when we speak of ``very small loans to 
the very poorest'' in the microenterprise loan program, Eric has 
conducted himself in a professional, patient, and nonpartisan manner.
  I do not envy the job he leaves to his successor, for his shoes are 
very big ones to fill. Eric will be missed, but I wish him the very 
best in his new and challenging position.


                         tribute to eric newsom

  Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, for nearly 14 years, Eric Newsom has 
dedicated his professional career, along with his knowledge and 
background in foreign policy, to the U.S. Senate. I first had the 
opportunity to work with Eric when he served as minority staff director 
in the mid-1980's during my term on the Senate Select Committee on 
Intelligence. For the past 3 years, I have worked with Eric to ensure 
the creation and continuation of a program I care deeply about--a 
large-scale high school exchange program with the former Soviet Union 
that has become a key component of our assistance to Russia and the 
other republics.
  As Senator Leahy's chief foreign policy, defense, and security 
adviser since the early 1980's, Eric has made many contributions to the 
Senate's formulation of foreign policy. In his most recent position, 
staff director of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, 
he negotiated passage of two of the U.S. Congress' most important 
foreign aid packages in the post-cold-war era--funding for the FREEDOM 
Support Act of 1992 and last fall's $2.5-billion NIS assistance 
package. At a time when the former Soviet republics have needed our 
assistance in making the transition to democracy and a free market 
economy, the impact of Eric's leadership and understanding of the 
issues have been felt all the way to other side of the globe.
  As Eric departs for new challenges at the State Department, we will 
miss him. But his contributions to the Senate will not be forgotten, 
and I extend my congratulations to him in his new position. Under 
Secretary of State for International Security Lynn Davis is lucky to 
have Eric joining her team.

                          ____________________