[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 29, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E114-E115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    COMMEMORATING MR. WILLIAM T. LEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 29, 2003

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker I rise to commemorate Mr. 
William T. Lee, a great patriot who served the United States well for 
years.
  Mr. Lee passed away in his home in Alexandria, Virginia on October 
30, 2002 due to complications associated with advanced cancer. He was 
born in Pass Christian, Mississippi and grew up with his grandparents 
in Missouri. He is survived by his former wife, Dixie Lee. They had no 
children.
  Mr. Lee served as a Senior Intelligence Officer during the Cold War 
and was a vigorous advocate for a national missile defense. He was a 
prominent figure and an insightful expert concerning the assessment of 
the Soviet Union's economy, size and scope of its military.
  Mr. Lee was an accomplished analyst of missile defense, a published 
writer and a formidable lecturer. His life accomplishments include an 
exceptional understanding of ballistic missile defenses of the Soviet 
Union and Russia, authoring 6 books and numerous articles and lecture 
tours in Europe, Asia and South America.
  Mr. Lee embarked on his impressive career with an induction into the 
Army Air Corps in 1944 where he supported the effort in the European 
theater during World War II. After the war, Mr. Lee began his academic 
education with 2 years at The University of Puget Sound and 2 years at 
the University of Washington and emerged in 1950 with a degree in 
history with a concentration on Russian studies and economics. Later he 
received a masters degree from Columbia University in advanced Russian 
and Chinese studies.

[[Page E115]]

  As a Soviet economic and military affairs analyst for the CIA in the 
1950's and early 1960's, Mr. Lee, along with colleagues, contended that 
the Agency had underestimated the share of the Soviet's gross national 
product that went into the military for years before the collapse of 
the Soviet Union in 1989.
  From 1964 to 1972 Mr. Lee lent his talents to the Stanford Research 
Institute as a senior analyst who helped produce intelligence reports 
forecasting Soviet and Chinese conventional and strategic weapons 
programs for the office of the secretary of defense.
  After working as an independent consultant to private research 
organizations on contract to government agencies for a few years, he 
joined the Defense Intelligence Agency in 1979 and was promoted to a 
member of the government's Senior Executive Service by the time he 
retired in 1992.
  Mr. Lee was a vital intelligence professional during the Cold War. As 
a member of the Committee on the Present Danger, he was instrumental in 
influencing the defense buildup during the Reagan administration. Lee 
never received public recognition for his tough estimates concerning 
the Soviet Union's vast military expenditures. His judgments were 
mostly embraced in 1976 by ``Team B,'' a committee of skeptics charged 
by then-Director of Central Intelligence George H.W. Bush with 
providing a second opinion on the capabilities of the Soviet military. 
The findings of Team B were confirmed as much more accurate than the 
Central Intelligence's estimates by showing that CIA and DIA 
continuously underestimated Moscow's spending due to their faulty 
methodologies. With regard to Soviet defense spending Lee's friends 
used to say there was the CIA, the DIA and William Lee.''
  It is important to note Mr. Lee's analysis of numerous documents 
including Kremlin archives and the private diaries and memoirs 
published by officials associated with the Kremlin's anti-ballistic 
missile programs. Lee's analyses and his books reflect his unwavering 
determination to find the truth. ``Lee was a cantankerous yet 
thoroughly focused analyst,'' said Derek Leebaert, a Georgetown 
University professor. ``His objective was not to prove the essential 
wickedness or aggressiveness of the Soviet system, but . . . just [to 
report] what was happening in both the Soviet Union's military and its 
economy.''
  In one of his books, The AMB Treaty Charade: A Study in Elite 
Illusion and Delusion, Mr. Lee showed how, as a matter of state policy, 
the USSR violated the requirements of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile 
Treaty by building and deploying a territorial AMB system explicitly 
prohibited by the accord. A second book, written with Richard Starr, 
entitled Soviet Military Policy Since World War II was translated by 
the PRC.
  This book, considered a classic, enjoyed extreme popularity in the 
United States, Europe and Asia. After being translated by the Chinese 
military, Mr. Lee was invited to lecture the military several times.
  His awards include the Army Distinguished Civilian Service Medal and 
the Meritorious Service Medal from the DIA.
  Mr. Lee was neither a Republican nor a Democrat, a conservative nor a 
liberal but a rock solid patriot. His passing will be felt by many.

[[Page 116]]

                       SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

       Title IV of Senate Resolution 4, agreed to by the Senate on 
     February 4, 1977, calls for establishment of a system for a 
     computerized schedule of all meetings and hearings of Senate 
     committees, subcommittees, joint committees, and committees 
     of conference. This title requires all such committees to 
     notify the Office of the Senate Daily Digest--designated by 
     the Rules committee--of the time, place, and purpose of the 
     meetings, when scheduled, and any cancellations or changes in 
     the meetings as they occur.
       As an additional procedure along with the computerization 
     of this information, the Office of the Senate Daily Digest 
     will prepare this information for printing in the Extensions 
     of Remarks section of the Congressional Record on Monday and 
     Wednesday of each week.
       Meetings scheduled for Thursday, January 30, 2003 may be 
     found in the Daily Digest of today's Record.

                           MEETINGS SCHEDULED

                               FEBRUARY 4
     2:30 p.m.
       Budget
         To hold hearings to examine the President's FY 2004 
           Budget.
                                                            SD-608
                               FEBRUARY 5
     9:30 a.m.
       Judiciary
         To hold hearings to examine judicial nominations.
                                                            SD-226
     10 a.m.
       Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
         To hold hearings to examine the nomination of William H. 
           Donaldson, of New York, to be a Member of the 
           Securities and Exchange Commission.
                                                            SD-538
       Budget
         To continue hearings to examine the President's Fiscal 
           Year 2004 Budget Proposal.
                                                            SD-608
       Small Business and Entrepreneurship
         To hold hearings to examine possible solutions to the 
           small business health care crisis.
                                                           SR-428A
                               FEBRUARY 6
     9:30 a.m.
       Armed Services
         To hold hearings on proposed legislation authorizing 
           funds for fiscal year 2004 for the Department of 
           Defense, and the Future Years Defense Program.
                                                            SH-216
                              FEBRUARY 11
     9:30 a.m.
       Armed Services
         To hold hearings to examine the current and future 
           worldwide threats to the national security of the 
           United States; to be followed by a closed meeting to be 
           held in SH-219.
                                                            SD-106
     10 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings to examine the President's proposed 
           budget request for fiscal year 2004 for the Department 
           of the Interior.
                                                            SD-366
                              FEBRUARY 13
     9:30 a.m.
       Armed Services
         To resume hearings on proposed legislation authorizing 
           funds for fiscal year 2004 for the Department of 
           Defense, and the Future Years Defense Program.
                                                            SH-216
     10 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings to examine the President's proposed 
           budget request for fiscal year 2004 for the Forest 
           Service of the Department of Agriculture.
                                                            SD-366
                              FEBRUARY 25
     10 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings to examine the President's proposed 
           budget request for fiscal year 2004 for the Department 
           of Energy.
                                                            SD-366
     2 p.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on 
           Veterans' Affairs to examine a legislative presentation 
           of the Disabled American Veterans.
                                                            SH-216
                                MARCH 6
     10 a.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on 
           Veterans' Affairs to examine legislative presentations 
           of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the 
           Paralyzed Veterans of America, Jewish War Veterans, the 
           Blinded Veterans Association, and the Non-Commissioned 
           Officers Association.
                                              345, Cannon Building
                                MARCH 12
     10 a.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on 
           Veterans' Affairs to examine a legislative presentation 
           of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
                                              345, Cannon Building
                                MARCH 13
     10 a.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on 
           Veterans' Affairs to examine legislative presentations 
           of the Retired Enlisted Association, Gold Star Wives of 
           America, the Fleet Reserve Association, and the Air 
           Force Seargents Association.
                                              345, Cannon Building
                                MARCH 20
     10 a.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on 
           Veterans' Affairs to examine legislative presentations 
           of AMVETS, American Ex-Prisoners of War, the Vietnam 
           Veterans of America, the Military Officers Association 
           of America, and the National Association of State 
           Directors of Veterans' Affairs.
                                              345, Cannon Building