[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 96 (Friday, July 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1501-E1502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF DICK KURTENBACH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 14, 2005

  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 
achievements of Dick Kurtenbach, the former Executive Director of the 
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas and Western Missouri 
and tireless advocate for the constitutional rights of Americans. Mr. 
Kurtenbach retired on June 30th, 2005 after 20 years of distinguished 
service to

[[Page E1502]]

the ACLU and his community. For this reason, I rise today to honor and 
celebrate his life achievements.
  Dick Kurtenbach's tenure with the American Civil Liberties Union has 
been prolific for the Western Missouri and Kansas region as well as 
fruitful for the entire Nation. He oversaw notable litigation, such as 
Cruzan v. Director of the Missouri Department of Health, which was herd 
by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990. The ruling was a victory, by 
recognizing that patients are entitled to the fulfillment of their end-
of-life care wishes. More importantly, the case raised much needed 
public awareness towards the importance of living wills, medical 
proxies, and other means of documenting those wishes and was lauded as 
a success by supporters. However, Dick's unwavering commitment to the 
values of liberty didn't always make him friends. In 1989, while I 
served on the City Council, his office filed suit on behalf of the 
Missouri Knights of the Ku Klux Klan arguing that the Kansas City, 
Missouri City Council had violated the Klan's First Amendment rights by 
denying them access to rant on a public cable TV channel. I remember 
being interviewed with Dick on ``The Today Show'' in New York City. As 
we walked out of the NBC studios, it was obvious that he was painfully 
uncomfortable having appeared to side with a group like the Klan. All I 
could do was put an arm on his shoulder and say, ``Hey, I understand 
what you're doing and why.'' It is a tough job but he has done it time 
and time again. Dick's steadfast refusal to compromise on something as 
precious as our civil liberties is representative of the purity and 
character of the American way.
  Dick Kurtenbach had been the Executive Director of the Kansas and 
Western Missouri ACLU since 1985 and was responsible for their original 
merger. Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of the Nebraska 
Civil Liberties Union from 1979 through 1985. He has worked on several 
Senate and Congressional campaigns, as well as for the Nebraska 
Democratic Party. Dick is a veteran of the United States Army, having 
served on active duty from 1967 to 1970, including 15 months of service 
in Southeast Asia. He has served on the Board of Directors of the 
Kansas City Civil Rights Consortium, The Human Rights Project, and the 
Western Missouri Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Dick graduated 
from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a Bachelors of Arts 
degree and is married to Joette Pelster.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to 
Mr. Dick Kurtenbach, not only for his unwavering efforts to preserve 
the tenets of our Constitution, but also for his courage in defending 
the individual rights of citizens, no matter how unpopular or 
difficult. I urge my colleagues to please join me, in congratulating 
Dick on his retirement as Executive Director of the Kansas and Western 
Missouri American Civil Liberties Union, and in celebrating his 
invaluable contributions and sacrifices to the cause of freedom.

                          ____________________