[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 140 (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5828-S5829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO STEVEN HILDRETH

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I wish to speak in order to honor the 
achievements of Steven A. Hildreth, Specialist in Missile Defense, 
Congressional Research Service, CRS, on the

[[Page S5829]]

occasion of his retirement from the Service on August 31, 2018.
  Steve Hildreth served Congress with distinction for more than 32 
years at the Library of Congress as a Specialist in U.S. and Foreign 
National Security Programs for the Congressional Research Service. He 
earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, 
a master's degree in international relations from Georgetown University 
in Washington, DC, graduate work at Johns Hopkins University School of 
Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, and a master's degree 
in national security strategy from the National War College in 
Washington, DC.
  Steve is recognized throughout Congress, the military services, the 
defense community, and the arms control community as an expert in U.S. 
nuclear weapons and ballistic missile defense, arms control, military 
space, and nonproliferation issues. He wrote extensively on missile 
defense programs, from the Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s 
through the current guided-missile defense and Aegis programs. He also 
assisted the House Armed Services Committee, after the first gulf war, 
with assessments of the effectiveness of the Patriot system in taking 
down Iraqi scud missiles. In that capacity, he assisted Congress in 8 
hours of testimony, leading a group of CRS researchers in providing 
open source analysis of the international aftermath of the September 
11, 2001, terror attacks before the 9/11 Commission. Halfway through, 
the staff director for the Commission told Steve, ``I never believed in 
open source analysis until today.''
  Steve also exercised true leadership at CRS. For 9 years, he led the 
Central Research Unit in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade 
Division of CRS, where he created and managed an extensive internship 
program and oversaw many of the research experts of the Service.
  Steve published many influential CRS reports on such subjects as 
challenges to the United States in space, Iran's ballistic missile and 
space launch programs, long-range ballistic missile defense in Europe, 
ballistic missile defense in the Asia-Pacific region, ballistic missile 
defense, and offensive arms reductions, cyber warfare, and the 
Strategic Defense Initiative.
  Long before I thought of running for office, I worked on national 
security issues for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In that 
capacity, I always found Steve's expertise valuable. As a Senator, I 
have continued to utilize Steve's analysis and insights. I am grateful 
for his service and wish him the best as he begins a new journey.

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