Political Quotes

“I rise to honor William Patrick ``Pat'' Towell, Ph.D., for his more than 17 years of service to Congress and the American people as a specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and Budget at the Congressional Research Service, CRS. Dr. Towell is widely recognized as a foremost defense policy expert. Senators, Members of Congress, and staff have all relied on his knowledge, expertise, and guidance at pivotal points in the development of the annual defense authorization and appropriations bills. Having served with CRS since 2006, Dr. Towell will retire at the end of this year. Throughout his tenure at CRS, Dr. Towell has advised congressional leaders, Department of Defense civilian and military officials, and foreign dignitaries on a range of defense policy and budgetary matters. A political scientist by training, he has exhibited a profound respect for the institution of Congress and an encyclopedic knowledge of the events and political personalities that have shaped defense issues. In addition to coordinating and authoring reports on annual defense authorization and appropriations legislation, Dr. Towell has written insightfully about key strategic guidance documents such as the Quadrennial Defense Review and the National Defense Strategy. He has also provided analyses of the debates over how to best organize the Federal Government to address national security challenges, and he has closely monitored funding for post-9/11 military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.…”