[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 120 (Thursday, September 22, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10389-S10390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMENDING THE JAMES MADISON COUNCIL AND ITS FOUNDING CHAIRMAN, JOHN W. 
                                 KLUGE

  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to the 
consideration of S. Res. 247, which was submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 247) commending the Library of 
     Congress's private-sector advisory body, the James Madison 
     Council, and its Founding Chairman, John W. Kluge, on 15 
     years of exemplary service to Congress and the Nation and 
     looking forward to the Council's continued success in the 
     years ahead.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I rise in support of a Senate resolution 
which I submitted commending the James Madison Council of the Library 
of Congress, which is celebrating its 15th year under the continuing 
strong leadership of its founding chairman, John Kluge.
  The James Madison Council is the first private sector advisory body 
in the history of the Library of Congress. With the approval of the 
Joint Committee on the Library, which I have chaired and served on for 
many years, Librarian of Congress Jim Billington established the 
Council in 1990 as the Library's primary philanthropic body and link to 
the business community. It consists of public-spirited citizens 
dedicated to helping the Nation receive the full benefits of the 
Library of Congress's incomparable educational, scientific, 
technological, and cultural resources.
  In its 15 years of unprecedented private support of the Library, the 
Madison Council has acquired hundreds of items for the collections that 
would have otherwise been unattainable through Federal appropriations 
alone, including the famous Waldseemuller map, the first map to bear 
the name ``America''; the $45 million dollar campaign to launch the 
National Digital Library, which provides free internet access to 10 
million of the most important materials in the Library's collection; 
the Library's bicentennial celebration in 2000 which featured the 
recreation of Thomas Jefferson's library; the establishment of the John 
Kluge Center, a major scholarly center, and its accompanying Kluge 
Prize in the humanities; and the National Book Festival, in conjunction 
with First Lady Laura Bush, promoting literacy and the joys of reading, 
which is taking place this weekend.
  This resolution commends and thanks the James Madison Council, 
particularly its chairman, John Kluge, one of the most patriotic and 
generous philanthropists I have known, and looks forward to its 
continued success in supporting the world's greatest library in the 
years ahead.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the 
preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 247) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 247

       Whereas the James Madison Council, the Library of 
     Congress's first-ever national advisory and support group in 
     the 205-year history of the Library of Congress is 
     celebrating its 15th year under the continuing strong 
     leadership of its Founding Chairman John W. Kluge;
       Whereas the James Madison Council remains a loyal group of 
     friends whose vision and generosity have made possible many 
     new initiatives within America's oldest Federal cultural 
     institution;
       Whereas John Kluge has energized this group of dedicated 
     and generous individuals from the private-sector to help this 
     unique institution that was created by Congress to make added 
     contributions for the good of the Nation;
       Whereas John Kluge's example and leadership has benefitted 
     not only the Library of Congress and Congress, but also 
     scholars, researchers, and lifelong learners everywhere, and 
     has created a new international award at the highest level 
     for lifetime achievement in the study of humanity;
       Whereas building on John Kluge's generosity, the James 
     Madison Council has strengthened and enriched the world of 
     scholarship in Washington, District of Columbia, and provided 
     new on-line educational material for the classrooms of the 
     Nation and the world;
       Whereas the members of the James Madison Council have added 
     a significant number of rare and historic materials of major 
     importance to the national collection of the Library of 
     Congress, such as the 1507 Waldseemuller map of the world, 
     which was the first map to include America, made possible by 
     members John Hendricks, Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest, and 
     David Koch, the restoration of Thomas Jefferson's original 
     library, which is the cornerstone of the Library's 
     collections, thanks to Jerry Jones, a major private 
     collection from members Jean and Jay I. Kislak, which 
     documents the encounter between European explorers and the 
     indigenous peoples of North America and, thanks to Jon and 
     Lillian Lovelace, the Alan Lomax collection, which is the 
     largest collection of ethnographic material ever assembled by 
     one person; and
       Whereas led by John Kluge, the James Madison Council has 
     furthered the programs of the Librarian of Congress, James H. 
     Billington, such as the National Digital Library, which 
     provides free internet access to 10,000,000 of the most 
     historically important and educationally valuable primary 
     materials in the Library's collection, the National Book 
     Festival, which celebrates the joys of reading, and the 
     Library's Bicentennial celebration in the year 2000: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate commends the Library of 
     Congress's private-sector advisory body, the James Madison 
     Council, and its Founding Chairman, John W. Kluge, on 15 
     years of exemplary service to Congress and the Nation and 
     looks forward to its continued success in the years ahead.

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