[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 88 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)] [Senate] [Pages S3972-S3973] ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS ______ TRIBUTE TO ANDREW LIEPMAN Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, Today I wish to recognize an unsung hero of the U.S. intelligence community and upstanding San Franciscan, Mr. Andrew Liepman, who is retiring from the U.S. Government after 30 years of service. I came to know Andy when he joined the National Counterterrorism Center, or NCTC, as the Deputy Director of Intelligence in 2006. He has served in that position and as Principal Deputy Director for the past 6 years. Andy has been a friend to the Senate Intelligence Committee and a dedicated leader of our Nation's counterterrorism efforts. I am sorry to see him leave the NCTC and the government but wish him the very best as he plots his future course. Andy has had a distinguished career in the intelligence community since he joined the CIA in 1982. He served in multiple positions at the CIA, at the Office of Near East and South Asian Analysis, the Office of Iraq Analysis, and the Office of Terrorism Analysis in the Counterterrorism Center. He also worked in a variety of assignments outside the CIA before coming to the NCTC, including time at the Department of State, the Nonproliferation Center, and the National Intelligence Council. But it was during his time at the NCTC that Andy came to be one of the Nation's top counterterrorism officials and a true leader of the intelligence community. He has worked closely with the NCTC's three Directors: ADM Scott Redd, Michael Leiter, and now Matt Olsen. And he has diligently kept the Senate Intelligence Committee informed on the terrorist threat--as a hearing witness and as a briefer to Senators and staff and also on the phone to describe imminent or breaking counterterrorism operations. When the committee has had to resolve a problem in the counterterrorism arena, whether getting information or fixing processes that weren't working, Andy was usually the person to solve it. He has served with a direct, frank professional manner, although Andy has quite the reputation for being a lively and fun boss as well. Mr. Liepman's legacy is the strength and reputation of the National Counterterrorism Center and particularly its Directorate of Intelligence. Since its creation in 2005, the NCTC has developed into a world-class analytic organization. It produces thousands of reports a year, from hour-to-hour situational reports when terrorist threats are unfolding, to daily analyses, to detailed, comprehensive products. The NCTC leads interagency reviews and speaks for the intelligence community on key intelligence questions. It produces tailored reports to answer policy questions--I recently requested one myself, on whether the Haqqani Network in Pakistan meets the criteria to be named a foreign terrorist organization. Under Andy's leadership, along with the Directors with whom he has worked, the National Counterterrorism Center has also grown to fill the role for which it was created. Among other things, the NCTC now includes Pursuit Groups, formed after the Christmas Day 2009 attempted airline bombing, to make sure that no terrorism lead goes unchecked. The center is the single repository of the government's definitive terrorism databases, which supports the various watchlists that keep suspected terrorists from boarding a plane or crossing the border. The NCTC plays a key role in coordinating the government's preparation and response to terrorist events, enhancing border and transportation security, and sharing terrorism-related intelligence with other intelligence agencies, the rest of the Federal Government, and with State, local, and tribal partners. A lasting reflection of Andy's work is the NCTC workforce itself. Many of its [[Page S3973]] analysts and operators are detailed from around the intelligence community, and these positions have become valued assignments. With the large growth of intelligence personnel working on counterterrorism since September 11, 2001, Andy has been a teacher, mentor, and supervisor for a generation of analysts. People across the intelligence community would seek out positions working for Andy and at the NCTC, and his efforts to develop them into expert professionals is a key reason that the NCTC is capable of the work it does today. I understand that after 30 years in government service and 6 years in the grueling environment of the NCTC, it is time for Andy to move on. I am pleased that he will have some time with his family, his mother Marianne, and his two brothers, who all live in California. It has been a long time since Andy graduated from the University of California at Berkeley--with a degree in forestry, no less--and I wish him well as he heads back to California and wherever else his future may lead. Mr. President, the intelligence community is filled with men and women who serve this Nation with dedication and skill and who are never properly recognized for their efforts and their contribution. I am pleased to be able to honor one of them today and give thanks on behalf of the committee for his career of service. ____________________