[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 111 (Thursday, August 2, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S8699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN MEMORY OF BILL ASHWORTH

 Mr. SARBANES. Madam President, earlier this week the Senate 
lost one of its finest and most respected professional staff members. 
George William Ashworth, known to all of us as Bill, passed away 
suddenly on Monday, leaving not only his loving family and a multitude 
of friends, but a 25-year record of extraordinary public service.
  I first came to know Bill when I joined the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee in 1977. He had been serving on the staff, which was then 
nonpartisan, since 1972, after having served two years in the U.S. Army 
and then covering the Pentagon and national security issues for the 
Christian Science Monitor. He came to the Committee as a specialist on 
arms control matters, and provided expert advice to all of us as we 
considered landmark treaties such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, 
the Threshhold Test Ban Treaty, the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty, 
and the Interim Agreement on Strategic Offensive Arms SALT I. Bill not 
only understood the details and implications of complex treaty 
provisions, but could explain them in a way that made clear the vital 
interests at stake. He had a passion for helping to build an 
institutional framework for peace and stability, at a time when the 
threat of mutual assured destruction shaped nearly every aspect of U.S. 
foreign policy.
  After 7 years with the committee, Bill was appointed to important 
positions at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, one of which 
required Senate confirmation. In 1981, he returned to the Committee 
staff, this time under the leadership of Senator Claiborne Pell, where 
again he brought his vast experience to bear on the establishment of 
sensible and verifiable controls on nuclear arms. Over the next 16 
years, until his retirement in 1997, Bill Ashworth became one of the 
most knowledgeable and influential staff members on national security 
questions, ranging from conventional weapons sales and military 
assistance to multilateral arms control treaties. He served as a key 
staffer for the bipartisan Arms Control Observer Group, briefing 
Members and planning missions to increase our familiarity with salient 
issues under negotiations. Many of us relied on his insights and 
guidance as the Foreign Relations Committee considered amendments to 
the Arms Export Control Act, controversial arms sales, foreign policy 
implications of the annual defense authorization and appropriation 
bills, and resolutions of ratification for the START I and II Treaties, 
the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces INF Treaty, the Treaty on 
Conventional Forces in Europe, CFE, and the Chemical Weapons 
Convention, among others.
  In all these endeavors, Bill developed cooperative working 
relationships with colleagues on both sides of the aisle while 
remaining true to his high ideals and strongly-held convictions. He was 
known as a hard bargainer, who took seriously his role in conducting 
oversight of the administration and protecting the interests of 
Committee members. Many an ill-conceived policy was dropped or amended 
because of Bill's close eye and sharp mind. He served as an example and 
mentor to my own staff, selflessly providing advice and encouragement 
at every turn.
  Bill Ashworth's influence will long be felt in the field to which he 
devoted his career, but his presence will be sorely missed by all who 
had the privilege of knowing him. I want to extend my deepest 
condolences to his wife, Linda, and his daughters, Anne and Jennifer. 
It was clear to all of us how much Bill adored his family, and I want 
to thank them for all the late hours and stressful moments they must 
have endured while he was diligently working to make the world a safer 
place for all of us.

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