A top national security adviser for the Obama administration is now working on the military budget from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
R. Collin Lee has become the newest staff assistant for the House Appropriations' Defense Subcommittee. Unlike on the rest of the Hill, where staff assistant is generally considered the lowliest of staff jobs, on the House Appropriations Committee it is a policy job of considerable influence.
Under subcommittee chairman Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), the James Madison graduate will oversee all funding bills for the Department of Defense, the CIA and other military agencies. The subcommittee will meet this Friday morning to discuss any proposed markups for the FY 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill.
Before assisting Congress with its allotment decisions, Lee has served as the chief of staff and as a legislative liaison officer for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Additionally, he was the director for legislative affairs with the National Security Council. Before that, Lee was a senior consultant for IBM Global Services and a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
