[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 1, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H4262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING JACK VALENTI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONYERS. Members of the House, I rise today to express my 
gratitude for having known and worked with Jack Valenti, who passed 
away last week after a lifetime that included serving as a pilot in the 
United States Army Air Corps, flying 51 combat missions as the pilot 
commander of a B-25 attack bomber, a man who was a senior aide in the 
Lyndon Baines Johnson White House, serving as the first special 
assistant to President Lyndon Johnson, and as president of the Motion 
Pictures Association of America.
  In 2004, Mr. Valenti reflected on his extraordinary career when he 
said, ``I'm the luckiest guy in the world, because I spent my entire 
public working career in two of life's classic fascinations, politics 
and Hollywood. You can't beat that,'' he said.
  Nothing about Jack Valenti was average. He started his adult life as 
an Army B-25 pilot in World War II, flying many combat missions over 
Italy. He returned from the war with numerous decorations, including 
the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four clusters 
representing additional awards.
  After the war, while working full time, Jack Valenti earned a 
Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston, and then went on to 
Boston where he earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard 
University.
  Known as one of the most influential lobbyists in Washington, he 
headed the Motion Picture Association for 38 years. During that time, I 
had the opportunity to work with him on a number of projects, including 
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which ensured protection for 
intellectual property in order to allow the rollout of digital 
technology. Mr. Valenti is also well known for creating the film rating 
system which assigned for the first time a rating to films. In other 
words, he created a system that would let them voluntarily categorize 
their films rather than requiring that we do it by legislation.
  His political career was by no means mundane, either. Before he went 
to the Motion Picture Association, he served as the first special 
assistant to President Johnson, and was in the motorcade on November 
22, 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. He then 
boarded Air Force One with President Johnson and was there for the 
famous picture of President Johnson being sworn in, and he became 
President Johnson's special assistant.
  After a lifetime of achievement, while most people would be more than 
ready to retire, Jack Valenti turned his energy toward a cause he had 
been concerned about for many years, and began leading in the fight 
against HIV and AIDS. He became president of the nonprofit Friends of 
the Global Fight, whose main goal is to support the global fund to 
fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Thankfully, we will all be able 
to read about Jack's enormous accomplishments and fascinating life, 
because he just finished his memoir before passing, which is entitled, 
``This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House and 
Hollywood.'' It will soon be published.
  While most people with this amount of influence may be too busy for 
many, Jack Valenti defied this stereotype by continuing to be both a 
mentor and friend to almost everyone with whom he came in contact. He 
kept his promises, promptly returned phone calls, and is described as 
generous, loyal, and honest by those who knew him. It is an 
understatement to that say Jack Valenti will be sorely missed.

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