[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 23 (Monday, March 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E227-E228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNITION OF MR. WILLIAM C. COONCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 6, 2000

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
William C. Coonce--one of our Federal Government's finest public 
servants and a long time resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This 
April he will retire from an exceptionally distinguished career of 
service to his country. He has worked for the Department of Defense 
since 1967, first with the Navy, and for the last 19 years with the 
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). He has served 
more than 34 years of exemplary service to our nation. He has been an 
exceptional manager of the public's resources and his efforts have 
strengthened our national defense. It gives me pride to have the 
opportunity to honor him today for his tremendous accomplishments.
  Mr. Coonce began his career at the Naval Ordnance Depot in 
Louisville, Kentucky as an engineer working on underwater sensors and 
weapons. He moved to the great Commonwealth of Virginia in 1971 to work 
for the Naval Sea Systems Command and later for the Comptroller of the 
Navy on important budget issues. He was promoted to work for the 
Defense Comptroller, first as a budget analyst and, for the last 
sixteen years, to the Senior Executive Service, where he served as

[[Page E228]]

the Director for Military Construction and later Director for Revolving 
Funds. The quality of his work has been recognized by every 
Administration he has served, and he has received civil service awards 
too numerous to mention. Among the more significant, he has received 
the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service, the Secretary of 
Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, and the Vice 
President's National Performance Review Award.
  Bill Coonce has served six Secretaries of Defense and six Department 
Comptrollers, as their key advisor on a range of budget issues. His 
recommendations on a wide range of vital issues were constantly sought 
and greatly helped the Department robustly defend the funding 
requirements that support U.S. forces and missions. He has a 
significant reputation as a budget-cutter across a wide range of 
national programs. Year in and year out, his wise counsel and sound 
advice produced the best possible, yet fiscally responsible, spending 
plans to satisfy the nation's national security needs.
  Mr. Coonce brought exceptional insight and skill to the many diverse 
challenges presented to and undertaken by him. He displayed outstanding 
skills as a manager of budget analysts, inspiring work that was of the 
highest quality. He has been the Department of Defense's expert in 
budgeting for Military Construction, Base Realignment and Closure 
actions, Intelligence Community requirements, and the logistics 
infrastructure programs. On an extraordinary number of occasions, his 
sage advice assured the adoption of sound spending decisions that 
supported major Defense programs while remaining consistent with the 
President's priorities and prevailing perspectives in the Congress. His 
comprehensive knowledge and exceptional skills were immensely 
invaluable to a whole generation of Department of Defense leaders, to 
our Armed Forces, and to U.S. national security.
  The senior U.S. leaders, both in the Congress and in the Defense 
Department, benefited enormously from his extensive knowledge, 
exceptional dedication, and wise judgment. His contributions and public 
service allowed the leaders of our nation to make the wisest possible 
allocation of declining defense resources while maintaining America's 
security. Mr. Coonce is retiring from a career of singular merit and 
has earned the profound gratitude of the American people.

                          ____________________