[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 41 (Monday, March 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E593-E594]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY, RECIPIENT OF THE ``SCHOLAR-PATRIOT AWARD''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 9, 2009

  Mr. CAPUANO. Madam Speaker, I rise in tribute to the Senior Senator 
from Massachusetts, Edward M. Kennedy, and to the American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences which has just honored Senator Kennedy with its 
``Scholar-Patriot Award.''
  Nearly 230 years ago in Cambridge, in what would become the Eighth 
Congressional District of Massachusetts, John Adams, James Bowdoin, 
John Hancock, and other ``scholar-patriots'' established the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  The Academy was created, during the American Revolution, to provide a 
forum for leaders from science, scholarship, business, public affairs, 
and the arts, to work together as citizens in support of a democratic 
republic. In the words of the Academy's charter, enacted in 1780, the 
``end and design of the institution is . . . to cultivate every art and 
science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and 
happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.''
  Today, the Academy, still in Cambridge, flourishes as an independent 
policy research center. Its members remain true to the original 
mission, conducting multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging 
problems. Current Academy research focuses on science and global 
security; social policy; the humanities and culture; and education.
  On March 9, 2009, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences convened 
a meeting in Washington, D.C. on the topic of The Humanities in a Civil 
Society. As part of the program, the Academy announced the presentation 
of its Scholar-Patriot Award to the dean of our state's congressional 
delegation, Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Throughout his career, Sen. 
Kennedy has been a stalwart champion of the humanities. I am proud to 
enter into the Congressional Record the citation from the Academy, and 
I congratulate my friend and colleague for this well-deserved 
recognition. ``The American Academy bestows its Scholar-Patriot Award 
on Edward M. Kennedy for his extraordinary service to the Academy, the 
community, and the nation.
  ``For four decades you have been a fierce defender of the ideals of 
opportunity, equity, and justice. Master of quiet collaboration and 
inspired oratory, you have achieved an unparalleled legislative record. 
Your efforts to insure quality education and health care for all 
Americans, including your leadership on the Americans with Disabilities 
Act, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and The Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act, have earned you the respect of men and 
women across the political spectrum. From your first major bill on 
immigration reform to your recent call for a renewed commitment to 
community service, you have championed an open and inclusive society. 
To your family and the nation, you are a profile of courageous 
leadership, the guardian of a dream that lives on.
  ``The founding members of the American Academy were pragmatic 
visionaries, anticipating the needs of a young republic for both wise 
governance and fresh ideas. You follow in their footsteps as a Scholar-
Patriot for our time. Asserting that ``our future does not belong to 
those who are content with today,'' you have fulfilled the Academy's 
historic mission, translating knowledge into action and celebrating the 
life of the mind in service to the community, the nation, and the 
world.''

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