[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 69 (Thursday, May 16, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E823-E824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO JAMES A. LEBENTHAL

                                 ______


                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 16, 1996

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to James A. 
Lebenthal, who has made possible the rebuilding of public works and 
infrastructure of the United States for more than three decades. Mr. 
Lebenthal was given the Tree of Life Award by the Jewish National Fund 
for his extraordinary service to the city and State of New York, and 
the Nation in general.
  James A. Lebenthal is the chairman and CEO of Lebenthal & Co., Inc., 
a company created by his parents in 1925. Lebenthal & Co. works with 
local governments to issue and sell municipal bonds to provide funding 
for capital projects. Jim is a leader in the municipal bond business, 
serving as president of the Commission on Saving and Investment in 
America, vice chairman of the Rebuild America Coalition, and director 
of Municipal Bond Investors' Assurance, Inc.
  Jim is well known as a skilled communicator, educator, retailer, and 
mass marketer of municipal bonds. Prior to joining his family's bond 
business in 1962, Lebenthal wrote advertising copy for Olgivy & Mather, 
worked at NBC, and was a Hollywood reporter for Life Magazine. This 
experience has given him the expertise to create and appear in 
inventive radio and TV commercials designed to educate the public about 
the benefits of municipal bonds. As a result of such mass marketing, 
the term ``municipal bond'' has become a household word. Through his 
commercials the general public has learned that the electricity that 
lights their homes, the water that comes from their taps, the buses, 
subways, bridges, and highways they use are all made possible by 
municipal bonds.
  Jim was raised in New York City. He attended the Dalton School, 
Andover, and received his bachelors degree from Princeton University. 
He has been married to Jacqueline Beymer for 35 years.
  The Jewish National Fund is devoted to funding water projects, 
forests, roads, and water conservation in Israel. James Lebenthal is 
the perfect choice to receive its highest honor, the Tree of Life 
Award. Through the symbol of the tree, Jim hopes to raise awareness of 
both public investment and the contribution infrastructure can make to 
the growth and economic development of any country.

[[Page E824]]

  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to honor, along with the Jewish 
National Fund, James A. Lebenthal, whose enduring belief in the 
possibilities of revitalization have led to three decades of tangible 
contribution to this Nation's public works and infrastructure. I ask my 
colleagues to join with me in this tribute to James Lebenthal for his 
many years of work in public interest.

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