[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 144 (Monday, October 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10654-H10659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, II, MEMBER OF CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pitts). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 7, 1997, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Moakley) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority 
leader.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to my 
colleague and my very dear friend, the gentleman from the Eighth 
Congressional District, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Joe 
Kennedy).
  When Joe was first elected to the 100th Congress back in 1986, he had 
a lot to live up to, and he has done so with Irish passion and a 
devotion to those less fortunate that would have made his father very 
proud.
  First, Joe had to confront enormous expectations because of who he 
was. As the oldest son of the late Senator Robert Kennedy, as the 
nephew of Senator Edward Kennedy, and the nephew of President John F. 
Kennedy, he was expected to do great things.
  If those expectations were not already high enough, Joe had the

[[Page H10655]]

unenviable task of having to follow on the greatest congressman and 
certainly one of the greatest Speakers this Nation has seen in many 
years, my dear friend and mentor, Thomas ``Tip'' O'Neill. I can only 
imagine the pressure Joe felt as he raised his right hand to take the 
oath of office just 12 years ago.
  But today it is my great pleasure to say that without a doubt, Joe 
has not only met those high expectations, but he has also exceeded 
them. A lot of Members in Congress lose some of their fire after a few 
years here, but not Joe Kennedy. He is just as passionate about helping 
people and making this country a better place today as he was just a 
dozen years ago.
  From his first years in Congress, Joe Kennedy has been a friend, an 
advocate, and a noble spokesman for those citizens in our society who 
are often forgotten. There has not been a vote on the floor of this 
House in which the poor of our country have not been able to look to 
him for leadership and for compassion.
  Joe has championed the rights of people looking to realize the 
American dream and obtain affordable housing. For those who cannot 
afford to buy a house, he made sure that safe, quality public housing 
was available.
  Joe has fought mightily to ensure that everyone is treated the same 
when they apply for a mortgage or try to get insurance, regardless of 
the color of their skin or the red line that used to be drawn around 
their neighborhood.

                              {time}  2115

  He has fought for the 4.4 million elderly in the working families who 
depend on fuel assistance so that they can heat their homes and they do 
not have to go without food. And I think it is very ironic that on the 
eve of his departure from this Congress, the Republican leadership has 
decided to eliminate the LIHEAP program, the program that Joe Kennedy 
has fought so hard for.
  Joe has been a very true friend of American veterans, men and women 
in uniform always knew that they could go to him, express their needs, 
and he would share their concerns. They learned early in his tenure 
that he would look out for them and he has not disappointed them once.
  Joe has led the fight to close the infamous School of the Americas, 
which has been linked to countless human rights violations in the 
Western Hemisphere. While the school is still open for business, people 
all across this country have seen the atrocities that take place there 
because Joe Kennedy spoke out.
  Joe has fought on behalf of the people of Haiti who live in abject 
poverty just a few hundred miles off our shore. And even now, Joe is 
working to make sure that the people of the Dominican Republic get 
much-needed supplies to help rebuild after Hurricane Georges that just 
passed.
  In Northern Ireland, the land of his ancestors, Joe worked tirelessly 
to bring people together to enjoy the peace and unity that they so 
richly deserve and that was very long overdue. Today, peace is a chance 
in Northern Ireland and Joe has as much a right to be proud of the Good 
Friday Agreement as anybody else.
  Joe Kennedy, you made your family proud. You have made Massachusetts 
proud. You have made your country proud. You have been an accomplished 
Member of this House, a respected colleague to people on both sides of 
the aisle, and a very dear friend of mine.
  So good luck my friend, the United States Congress is a much better 
place because you served here, and this Congress will miss you.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
McGovern) of the 3rd Congressional District, my former staffer.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the dean of our delegation, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) for his very eloquent and 
passionate words on behalf of our friend, Joe Kennedy.
  This is both a sad and happy occasion for me as a freshman Member of 
the Massachusetts delegation. Sad because I regret the short time, only 
2 years, that I have had the opportunity to work with Joe Kennedy on 
behalf of our Commonwealth. Happy because I know he will be a powerful 
force for change in Massachusetts, galvanizing grassroots involvement 
on the important issues of the day.
  And while there are many issues in which Joe Kennedy has been a 
leader, housing, Congressman Moakley mentioned LIHEAP, veterans, human 
rights, democracy in Haiti, consumer rights, community-based 
development, and I could go on and on and on and many of my colleagues 
today will sing his praises on a lot of those issues. But I would like 
to speak about one issue near to my own heart in which Joe Kennedy 
exercised extraordinary leadership and around which he helped build a 
national grassroots campaign. That issues involves the closing down of 
the School of the Americas.
  Mr. Speaker, no one, literally no one was doing anything on this 
issue until Joe Kennedy became involved. He heard the voices of 
families and individuals throughout Latin America who have lost loved 
one at the hands of U.S.-trained graduates of the School of the 
Americas and he decided to take a stand, and a stand against the School 
of the Americas.
  I have personally felt the loss of friends murdered by School of the 
Americas graduates. The six Jesuit priests murdered in El Salvador in 
November 1989 were known to me. They were men who stood for peace, for 
justice, who fought so passionately against the senseless violence in 
El Salvador for so many years. These were priests who were outstanding 
leaders in El Salvador and who were my friends, with whom I met on so 
many occasions, who I thought offered hope to end the civil conflict in 
El Salvador.
  Last November, I traveled to El Salvador with the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) to participate in events commemorating 
these Jesuit martyrs. We attended a people's mass held outdoors with 
thousands of Salvadorans gathered covering the hillsides. Congressman 
Moakley and I, accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador, were escorted to our 
seats. There was a huge film on the screen accompanied by music. It was 
a film about the School of the Americas. Mr. Speaker, there, 10 or 15 
feet high, was the face of Joe Kennedy. It seems I had traveled 
thousands of miles to see the face of my friend from Massachusetts, who 
in El Salvador is seen as a voice for the voiceless.
  I cannot say how proud I was to be associated with Joe Kennedy, to be 
from Massachusetts, to see him up there talking about the values, 
talking about the issues that I care about, that Congressman Moakley 
cares about, that so many people in this country care about.
  So, I want to just say that my wife Lisa and I want to wish Joe and 
Beth all the best. Joe, I want to thank you for your service to this 
country. I want to thank you for being a good friend to me. I am proud 
that I had the opportunity to serve with you in this Congress, and I am 
most especially proud that you are my friend. So thank you very much.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield to the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) representing the 6th 
District, the outstanding freshman.
  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bid farewell to one of the 
most ardent champions of the less fortunate, my friend and colleague, 
Joe Kennedy.
  Mr. Speaker, whether it is fighting to close the terrorist School of 
the Americas, or improving low income housing, or assuring that 
America's poorest families receive low-cost heating through the LIHEAP 
program, Joe continued his father's legacy by speaking for those 
without a voice and has left his own incredible mark on history.
  Joe Kennedy has dedicated his tenure in Congress to improving the 
lives of the less fortunate and the quality of living for today's 
consumers. When studies indicated that credit unions had a poor record 
of lending to minorities and low-income members, Joe took steps to 
ensure that credit unions adhered to the same fairness regulations as 
banks and savings institutions.
  When the American Medical Association reported the extent of heavy 
binge drinking among young people, Joe Kennedy introduced legislation 
to provide incentives for colleges and universities to develop and 
implement alcohol abuse prevention programs and would establish new 
requirements for

[[Page H10656]]

alcohol advertising that targets young audiences.
  When more and more Americans became burdened by credit card debt and 
sky-high interest rates charged by creditors, Joe Kennedy introduced 
legislation which would protect consumers from the unreasonable 
practices of creditors that result in higher fees and interest rates 
for consumers. In fact, one of the first opportunities I had as a 
congressman was to join Joe in a forum in Boston dealing with that very 
issue, and he has been a leader on that and so many other things.
  I could go on, but I am sure there are others here tonight who will 
have much more to say, as did the gentlemen from Massachusetts (Mr. 
McGovern) and (Mr. Moakley).
  We can take faith knowing that Joe will continue his work on behalf 
of low-income families because he is going to focus his efforts on the 
Citizen's Energy Corporation. I know that under Joe's guidance, many 
low-income and elderly individuals will not have to face another brutal 
New England winter without low-cost heating.
  The Massachusetts delegation in the House of Representatives is 
losing one of its most valued colleagues, Mr. Speaker. One of its 
strongest advocates for low-income and elderly individuals, and for all 
things fair in this country.
  When people talk about values, whether they are out in their 
districts or here in Congress, they need only look at the principles 
and the causes that Joe Kennedy has stood up for time and time again. 
It makes us all proud, Mr. Speaker, to be from Massachusetts. It makes 
us proud to be a friend of Joe Kennedy. It makes us proud to have him 
campaign with us and for us, on occasions, to speak on the floor for 
the things that we believe in.
  Mr. Speaker, if I can address the gentleman from Massachusetts 
directly for a moment, against our usual decorum, Joe, I wish you the 
best in your future endeavors, you and Beth, and I speak for everyone 
in this Chamber when I say that you will be sadly missed.
  Mr. Speaker, to paraphrase our Irish ancestors, ``May the road rise 
to meet you, may the wind always be at your back. . .and until we meet 
again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.''
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the next Dean of the Massachusetts 
delegation, the outstanding Congressman from the 7th District, a master 
in telecommunications and other great subjects.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Boston, 
Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley) very much for holding this special order 
tonight. I anticipate being the Dean of the Massachusetts delegation 
sometime very deep into the 21st century. The incredible work that the 
Massachusetts medical community has done on the gentleman from South 
Boston makes it highly unlikely that I will see the post of Dean of our 
delegation any time before I am a very old man.
  But, Mr. Speaker, by that time I think we all expect Joe Kennedy to 
be back. Not back here in the House of Representatives, but he will be 
back. He will be governor. He will be Senator. Maybe he will be more, 
but he is going to be back. This is just a little break.
  He is going to be able to see his two boys, seniors in high school, 
co-captains of their football team, every Saturday. He will be able to 
see them in their winter and spring sports. He will be able to get them 
on to their college curricula in the next several years. But he is far 
from finished in this business. It is just a little break.
  We all wish we could take the break that Joe Kennedy is taking right 
now. If the rest of us took a break for 4 years, we would be in 
oblivion. Joe Kennedy will probably be more popular 4 years from now, 
because of what he will be able to do in the private sector, in 
community activities over the next several years. And in addition, he 
will be able to, as well, make sure that his boys and Beth have at 
least this one brief shining moment of 4 years where he will be in one 
place for that period of time.
  Even as we debate over these final 4 or 5 days in Congress over 
whether or not we are going to take care of schools in the poorest 
neighborhoods in America, something that Joe has been talking about the 
whole time that he has been here, there is another bill that is hanging 
around here which is a banking bill. A bill that is going to overhaul 
the entire banking and securities and insurance industries in our 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, there is just one little sticking point which is that 
they do not want Joe Kennedy's provision that ensures that these 
wealthiest of financial institutions reinvest in communities, the poor 
communities where the money has come from. It just really drives them 
crazy that Joe Kennedy has so mastered the legislative process that he 
is almost single-handedly able to take on the most powerful financial 
interests in the world and frustrate them so that they cannot get what 
they want, and he understands that well and, in fact, supports it 
unless and until they always take care of the poorest in the poorest 
communities in the United States.
  I think that is kind of a wonderful tribute to him right now. 
Oftentimes, people only receive credit in the political process by the 
legislation which they pass. But there is a bill which is dying right 
now, this financial services bill, because Joe Kennedy does not think 
it does enough. We will pass a bill at some point, next year, the year 
after, the year after that. And when we do, for sure it will include 
the provision which Joe Kennedy believes is indispensable to 
constructing a balanced and fair banking financial services system in 
this country and world. It is not just for the hedge fund investors who 
can pony up $5 million or $10 million a piece. It is also for the 
smallest and the poorest, the most ordinary people in our country. And 
he understands that, and he animates the debate here on the floor of 
Congress with those very specific values.
  When we vote here on the floor, the Chamber is exactly as it was in 
1858 when it was constructed, except a compromise that was cut with the 
Daughters of the American Revolution about 30 or 40 years ago which 
allows just for 15 minutes for all of our names to flash electronically 
up on the board. When the Members come in and they gather here on the 
floor, they scan the board to see where people are on any particular 
issue.

                              {time}  2130

  And a very large number of Members always check to see how Joe 
Kennedy voted because they know that Joe Kennedy is going to be voting 
for the poorest, for the most needy, for those who need help within our 
society. No joking, no kidding, that is what his vote stands for. 
Everybody knows that is what it stands for up there. No deals, no 
compromise, that is who he is.
  And I think that is quite a legacy to leave, that after 12 years 
people know that that is what that vote stands for up there, even as he 
understands the complexities of the most sophisticated financial, 
manufacturing, industrial issues and industries in our country and in 
our globe.
  So for me it has been an honor to serve with Joe over all of these 
years. He has been a very special presence here in the Congress, and I 
think that in the years to come the experience which he has gained here 
is going to further help not only the people of Massachusetts but this 
country and this world. We know not how that will manifest itself, 
except that it is inevitable that that day will arrive.
  I thank you, Joe, and I wish the best for you and Beth and for your 
two boys, because you deserve it.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much.
  The next gentleman I will introduce, when he first announced for 
office, a reporter grabbed me and said, another Kennedy running for 
office. He said, what do you think about all those Kennedys in office. 
I said, there is not enough of them.
  It is a great pleasure to introduce a Congressman who came in, son of 
a great father but, on his own, has made a name here in the Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Patrick 
Kennedy).
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very 
much, Joe Moakley, my good friend, who is not only the dean of the 
Massachusetts delegation but the dean of the New England delegation.
  I know when I think about what it is like to come here to the 
Congress and

[[Page H10657]]

try to make it on to the right committees and always people say to me, 
you know, you have to go check with Joe Moakley, but I was lucky, Joe, 
because I had some more advice than the average freshman when I came 
here to Congress. And you alluded to it when you talked about the fact 
that there was already a Kennedy in Congress here and I was lucky to 
have Joe in Congress here when I came here, because when you were 
talking about Joe and the great expectations that he had to rise to 
when he was elected here to the Congress, and you really set it up very 
well, what he was up against when he first was elected, the notion that 
he was following in such a historic seat as the 8th congressional seat, 
that he was following the Speaker of the House, that he was following 
in my family's legacy of public service, it was a daunting task. But 
luckily for me, I had Joe to break the ice for me when I came to the 
Congress.
  And Joe, when I got down here on the floor, he told me a few things 
to do and not to do, when I was looking out to start my career in the 
Congress. And Joe Moakley, you were very kind to say that I am making 
it on my own here, but I can tell you that would have been a total 
accident if I had not had my cousin to be here in the Congress and to 
show me the way.
  And Joe has certainly seen the way in this House. He basically said 
to me, I have seen how it is done in this place. Let me tell you, from 
the benefit of my experience, how to do it the right way. And he was 
selfless, as he is known to be by anyone who knows Joe and loves him.
  I want to talk a little bit about what Joe is like as a person, 
because I think it is reflected in all the things that you mentioned, 
Mr. Moakley, and my other colleagues in the House mentioned with 
respect to the issues that are dear to Joe's heart and the legacy that 
he leaves as a Member of this esteemed body.
  As I was growing up, Joe was always someone who took me under his 
wing and always made sure that I was doing all right. I can tell you 
that might sound funny to people, but I never felt like I was in the 
groove, so to speak, because Joe came from a large family with lots of 
brothers and sisters, and my brother and sister were 6 and 7 years 
older than me.
  I was not as close to them because of age as I was to many of my 
cousins who were his younger brothers and sisters. I can tell you I 
never felt out of step when I was with him because he always made me 
feel like I was just one more of his brothers and sisters. I can tell 
you whether it was sailing on race week or whether it was running up, 
after sailing in the Victura, to go catch some bluefish off of Cape 
Cod, Joe was always there to show me the way that he knew and he was 
always there to educate me and give me the benefit of his experience. 
That got him frustrated sometimes when I caught bigger bluefish than he 
did or when I managed to get a better place in the sailboat, but then 
he always knew that he was the one that had been my instructor, and he 
knew he had done well by giving me the best advice that anyone could 
give.
  When I think about what it was like for, I think, all members of my 
family growing up with the last name Kennedy and to think about what it 
was, what it is like to live up to my family's legacy of public 
service, I think it is probably easier for me to think about the 
history that is written by my family, its historic struggle for the 
disenfranchised, and I think more often than not that legacy was 
written by Joe's father, who brought to politics a personal touch that 
everybody that I meet in my travels around the country who talks to me 
about what my family means to them, they always mention my Uncle Bobby 
because whereas my Uncle Jack was a great President and someone who 
inspired a whole generation to public service, it was my uncle Robert 
Kennedy who really moved them in a personal way. And I can tell you for 
me it was history because I was not, I am among the youngest members of 
my family and Joe is amongst the oldest members of my generation. And 
he was with his father campaigning and he knew his father well.

  I can tell you from watching the way he has orchestrated himself as a 
Member of this Congress, I can tell you without a doubt that everything 
I learn about my Uncle Bobby, I say about my cousin Joe.
  He is there to fight on behalf of human rights, as has been 
mentioned, with the School of the Americas. He is there on behalf of 
those who need the help the most from government. And most of us in my 
family would say, hey, does not everybody do this? I mean, we were 
brought up thinking this was the thing to do. And Joe and my colleagues 
who are Democrats here, we have come to this Congress and, boy, I have 
only been here four years, but it has been long enough for me to 
realize that nothing that I have been brought up to believe in can be 
taken for granted. I thought that it has been done before and so what 
was left for us to do.
  I can tell you what is left for us to do is to be stewards of the 
great legacy of the Democratic Party. In Joe's case, he was a steward 
of the great legacy of his father and of my whole family. He stood up 
on behalf of people who are being tortured in Central and South America 
when he worked to close the School of the Americas. He works on behalf 
of homeless veterans. The homeless situation in this country is a 
tragedy in itself, but to think that we have homeless people who are 
American veterans who have served this country in time of war and in 
time of peace, who come back and have no place to call home, they have 
no better friend than my cousin Joe.
  Joe Moakley, I happened to be in downtown Boston a couple weeks ago 
trying to take a break from the activity of politics down in Rhode 
Island. And I stumbled across a veterans shelter in downtown Boston. 
And I went in there and I said, I am Joe Kennedy's cousin. And I can 
tell you, I got smiles from everyone all around, because everyone told 
me that they could not have had a better champion for homeless veterans 
than my cousin Joe.
  It made me very proud to just say, I am Congressman Kennedy and I am 
from Rhode Island, and I hope I can do somewhat as much as my cousin 
Joe has done for all of you in trying to provide assistance for the 
neediest of people in our society, our homeless veterans.
  I was taken on a tour up and down the 7 flights of stairs where each 
floor was dedicated to housing workshops, vocational education and 
training workshops, you name it, it was all one-stop shopping for 
veterans, homeless veterans in our community. And it was there because 
of the tireless work of my cousin Joe and Congressman Moakley, and to 
think about what great pride it gave me made me realize why I am in 
this Congress.
  I hope that some day I can be in the majority, as Joe had been in for 
a number of years, so that I can do some of the things that he was able 
to do when he was in the majority. But I know that whether we are in 
the minority or whether we are in the majority, either case, that what 
is important is that there is someone up there to fight for the 
interests of people who do not have representation in this body.
  I can tell you, I wish this place had more Members of the caliber of 
my cousin Joe, because if it did, we would truly see what the true 
definition of government is supposed to be, and that is to protect the 
people who are least protected in our society. That is what I believe 
government is here for. That is the legacy of my cousin Joe. And if you 
wander the halls of this Congress and the last Congress, you would not 
know that because you would think that this place only existed for the 
people who could pay to have access to this place.
  But that is not my cousin Joe. He went here to the Congress to make 
sure that there was access for people who do not have a voice, and I 
could not be more proud to try to carry on his legacy of public 
service. And I know as my colleague, Congressman Markey said, that my 
cousin Joe is just taking a respite now from public service. I know 
that he will be back, because he is somebody who is not committed to 
hold any particular office. He is committed to carrying on the legacy 
of his father. What an awesome legacy that is.
  But he did everything he could do in his power to stay true to his 
father's legacy. Nothing could be said better than that for Joe 
Kennedy, because he really is the kind of person who has the big heart 
and fights on behalf of people who need to have a fighter. And when

[[Page H10658]]

you think of Joe, you think of a fighter. And if you think about the 
issues he fights for, you have got a road map for good humanistic 
causes, making sure people have their homes heated, making sure they 
have homes to stay in, making sure they are not terrorized by people 
who are educated by the School of Americas, making sure they have 
access to credit so they can provide for their families and their 
communities. I mean, you cannot help but appreciate that Joe has kept 
to the basics.

  Most Members in this place try to find a niche that is more, that is 
sexy and is technical in nature and tries to give them a leg up with 
the powers that be in this town. Joe never lost sight of the true 
powers that he was here to represent and that is people who do not have 
any power in this society. He can be confident that when he leaves 
here, he leaves a legacy of someone who actually tried to change this 
country for the good and not just try to go along to get along, because 
that is not the cousin Joe Kennedy that I know.
  I know that will not be his legacy, because he is going to carry on 
and keep fighting for the people who need to be fought for.
  Good luck, Joe. And I will look forward to continuing to get your 
good advice and counsel over the next few years because I am sure I am 
going to need it.
  I thank my colleague from South Boston for yielding to me.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, the next person I will introduce is not a 
Massachusetts person but we accept him as one, a dear friend, a fellow 
I served with for many years on the Committee on Rules, an outstanding 
Member.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon).
  Mr. GORDON. Thank you, Joe Moakley. I thank you for all your 
leadership and friendship when we served together on the Committee on 
Rules. No matter how acrimonious things would get there, you were 
always able to tell a quick joke and help us to move forward. You 
certainly serve a great function there.
  For those of us that know Joe, that know that probably the last place 
he wants to be tonight is right here, hearing Members say good things 
about him, I want to try to be very brief, because this is really sort 
of a bittersweet time for me. I know now that inevitably I am not going 
to see as much of my buddy, that we are going to be friends and we are 
going to stay in touch, but we are not going to see each other on a 
daily basis.
  That is a hard thing to come to grips with, when you have spent so 
much time with someone over the years. But I am so happy for his new 
future.
  I am also very sad that this House is going to lose his strong, 
passionate, energetic voice for the less fortunate, for the working men 
and women of this country. As so many folks have said here, Joe just 
does not say it, he feels it. And when you look up on the board and you 
see his vote, there is no compromises there. That is what he thinks 
needs to be done.
  I do not think that I have seen anybody in the last 12 years that has 
worked harder at trying to make everyday working people's lives better, 
at trying to make sure that those folks that are less fortunate have a 
chance to get ahead.

                              {time}  2145

  One thing I have noticed, as Joe and I have been together and 
traveled around, is it is amazing just how recognizable he is. Whether 
he is on the steps here in Washington or he is at an airport in Zaire, 
people know Joe Kennedy. They come up all the time. And no matter how 
tired he might be, no matter how behind, and it seems like we are 
always behind, trying to catch the next plane or whatever it might be, 
he always stops. He talks to them. He wants to hear what is on their 
mind. Never complains about it. I think they help him to see how real 
people are and really what he is trying to do. It makes me proud when I 
see him that way.
  So not to try to embarrass him any more tonight, but to say that I am 
glad that he is going to have more time with the boys. He has twin 
boys, Joe and Matt. They used to be little boys. Now they are big boys. 
And I guess probably the thing that Joe anguishes more over than 
anything is that every now and then he misses one of their ball games. 
It is a major deal when we are called in session and he cannot get 
there to see them, because they really are a team.
  I am glad he and Beth are going to have even more time together. Beth 
is a soothing part of his life. And as Patrick has pointed out, Joe is, 
to a great extent, is a patriarch of an extended family, for all the 
cousins, and he tries to be there. And I am glad he is going to have 
more time to be there for not only his generation but also that next 
one below. I think that folks do look at Joe to be the guy that will be 
there when they need him.
  So, Joe, as you leave this Chamber and you leave this House, you do 
so truly, truly, truly knowing that you have left this Congress, this 
country, a better place. And I am happy to know that you are now going 
to take another adventure and that the enthusiasm that you brought to 
this Congress you are now going to take to the private sector now.
  I do not know that it has been said yet, but Joe started a little 
company in his basement a few years ago and now it is a billion dollar, 
or multibillion dollar company, and its only purpose is to help others, 
to get them cheaper prescription drugs, to make their energy costs a 
little bit less expensive. So now Joe will be able to take that energy 
and help those same folks he has wanted to in a legislative way in an 
entrepreneurial way.
  I am proud of you. Everybody that has worked with you is proud of 
you. And you, again, can leave this place knowing that it is better for 
your having been here. Thank you, Joe.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee, and 
the next gentleman to speak for Joe is a dear friend of his, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jim Turner).
  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, as a Texan, it is an honor for me to come 
pay tribute to my friend, Joe Kennedy.
  I must tell you, Joe, that when I first came to this House 2 years 
ago, just the thought of meeting you, and knowing the rich heritage 
that your family has and the contributions that your family has made 
over the years to our country, caught me somewhat in awe to meet you 
the first time.
  I never will forget when we were in freshman orientation up at the 
Kennedy School at Harvard University and you invited the freshmen to 
come out for a dinner with you and Beth at the Kennedy Library. We had 
a chance to visit and to know the warmth and the charm that you and 
Beth both exude. It made me realize the character and the depth that 
you have as a person.
  I will tell you that I have always been impressed as a freshman 
Member of this body that I have never walked past you without you 
saying, hello, hello, Jim. Someone who has been around here much longer 
than I have, who oftentimes, as a new Member with 434 other Members 
here in this body, oftentimes it takes a while to get acquainted with 
everyone. But I never will forget the warmth and friendship you have 
exhibited to me personally and to the other Members of the freshman 
class.
  The Kennedy name means much in Texas. Over the years, as I grew up, 
and on the occasions when Kennedys would visit, it was always a warm 
experience because I know that many in Texas understood the depth of 
commitment that the Kennedy family has always had to those who maybe 
did not have quite as much as everyone else; those who needed a helping 
hand; those who needed the government to be there as their safety net. 
And in this body, Joe, you have stood for those values. Even though you 
come from a family of great recognition, you have always worked hard to 
be sure that those who needed the helping hand of government, needed 
the safety net of government, would have that assistance.
  When we talk in this body among freshmen Members and we reflect upon 
those who have passed our way, I am sure that you and Beth will always 
have a very special place in all of our hearts. They always say that 
there is a special connection between Boston and Austin, between 
Massachusetts and Texas. We hope we can continue to keep that alive, 
and we appreciate, Joe, your service and your dedication to the people 
that you have exhibited these many years. It has been an honor for me 
to get a chance to know you, and I appreciate your friendship.

[[Page H10659]]

  Mr. MOAKLEY. I thank the gentleman from Texas.
  And now, Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the 
Congressman representing the first district in Massachusetts (Mr. John 
Olver), a member of the Committee on Appropriations.
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley), the dean of my Massachusetts delegation, 
for putting together this opportunity to say something in a public way 
to honor Joe Kennedy and the service he has provided here in the 
Congress of the United States; and also to say that I am very happy to 
join all the others from the Massachusetts delegation and the gentleman 
from Rhode Island (Mr. Patrick Kennedy), the younger Kennedy, who will 
soon be the elder Kennedy in the House of Representatives, although I 
am sure we will probably have some others from this far-flung family 
that has such a great legacy, as those who have already spoken have 
mentioned.
  I, probably more than any other Member of the Massachusetts 
delegation, owe my presence, my opportunity to serve in the House of 
Representatives, to the assistance, Joe, that you gave, you and Beth 
together, gave me when I first ran for this seat in 1991.
  Joe Kennedy and his wife, Beth, campaigned with me in several of the 
cities, several places in the district that I presently serve, as it 
was constituted at that time. And I was always very grateful for that 
assistance, although I must say that, usually, in the events that Joe 
attended on my behalf, people would stampede by me wondering who the 
devil that was in the way when they wanted really to get to where he 
was and to be able to show their love for his father as well as his two 
uncles and to have a word from the various experiences that they had 
had over a period of time with them earlier.
  My campaign staff always said that what I really ought to do on those 
events was to make certain that I kept right at Joe's elbow. And, of 
course, if I got right at his elbow, then I could immediately see the 
cameras trying to figure out how could they get this bald, toothless 
person out of the picture that they were taking.
  And, of course, secondly, they would say, well, get yourself in 
between Beth and Joe. So we tried that. But that did not seem very 
comfortable, because I always preferred to go off in a corner and watch 
how Joe Kennedy would work a crowd, a crowd of elders or a crowd of 
young people, whoever it happened to be, and it really it was really a 
revelation to me of how one should go about campaigning. There I was in 
my own district, but to have Joe come in and be able to show how 
campaigning really ought to be done in the true Massachusetts and true 
Kennedy tradition, that was certainly something that was important for 
me to know.
  Various people have said things here about what Joe fought for and 
what Joe Kennedy voted for and always able to know that he was fighting 
for and voting for those things that would help the poorest and the 
neediest in our society. And, yes, we all have memories of his 
leadership on matters like the homeless veterans and the School of the 
Americas.
  I suppose I remember most closely those several fights over logging 
rights in the national forests year after year. Sometimes, he would 
win. Win once, come very close, or win a vote and find a few days later 
that that vote was snatched away in one way or another among the 
various nefarious ways that those things can happen in the Congress.
  And, yet, Joe would come back again each year, every year, to try to 
put an end to that process of spending millions of dollars on building 
roads into our national forests to the benefit of a very small number 
of the largest logging companies, who were then the further 
beneficiaries not only of the roads that we would build but also of the 
low-cost timber sales along the way, that kind of fight against the 
large corporations.
  And his leadership in the Committee on Banking and Financial Services 
as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community 
Opportunity, continually fighting against redlining, that 
discriminatory practice that has been so detrimental to so many of our 
older communities, communities of great need.
  And so I certainly would associate myself with the comments that have 
been made by several people, perhaps by the gentleman from Rhode Island 
(Mr. Patrick Kennedy). I do not know how he escaped to Rhode Island, 
but he seems to be quite well entrenched there. And also my dean for 
somewhere into the 21st century, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Markey), his comments along the same lines.
  I would say that, indeed, Joe will be back at some point along the 
way in one of those roles that has been suggested, and he will still be 
fighting for those things he has fought for here openly, and as a happy 
warrior, without any quarter given or expected in those fights along 
the way.
  Joe, I want to wish you and Beth the very best in that interim 
period. It has been great to have your friendship and your assistance 
over this period of time, and I am very happy to be able to call you a 
friend.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank all the Members who have spoken here tonight. 
There are many, many other Members that would like to be here but have 
other commitments.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on the tribute to our colleague, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Joe Kennedy).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pitts). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.

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