[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 13, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CELEBRATING THE 92ND BIRTHDAY OF NEWTON MINOW

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2018

  Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to acknowledge 
the 92nd birthday of a great American, an innovative public servant, 
and a person I am proud to call my friend and mentor, Newton Minow.
  Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on January 17, 1926, Newt was the child 
of immigrant parents who stressed the virtues of hard work, integrity 
and public service. He went on to serve on the Indian subcontinent in 
the Second World War as a Sergeant in the United States Army, and then 
to Northwestern Law School and a clerkship for United States Supreme 
Court Justice Fred Vinson.
  Newt's career spans a period of unparalleled transformation in the 
way our world shares information, and his influence on the evolution of 
media and broadcasting is difficult to overstate. Although he may be 
best known for his service as Chairman of the Federal Communications 
Commission and his oft-quoted ``vast wasteland'' speech, Newt had a 
hand in the development of the transistors that power modem computing, 
satellites that make global communication possible, and served as 
chairman of the board of governors of the Public Broadcasting Service 
and co-chair and vice-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates. 
His intense focus on reserving broadcast spectrum to serve the public 
interest has shaped the development of media, public television and 
radio to the benefit of our democracy and our national dialogue.
  Newt's service to his community extends well beyond government. In 
addition to his work as a successful attorney, Newt has served on the 
boards of business enterprises and in key leadership positions for 
important not-for-profit institutions including the Rand Corporation, 
the Carnegie Corporation, the Mayo Foundation, Northwestern University, 
the University of Notre Dame and the Chicago Orchestral Association.
  In 2016, Newt's extraordinary service to his country was recognized 
by President Obama with the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  Newt would be the first to say that his greatest achievements have 
been his long, happy marriage to Josephine Baskin Minow, his wife of 
nearly 69 years, and his daughters Nell, Martha and Mary---all highly 
successful women who each through their own work have added so much to 
the national good.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all of Newt's countless friends and 
admirers, and on behalf of the United States Congress and a grateful 
nation, I want to say thank you to Newton N. Minow for all that he has 
done and continues to do for the people of the United States, and 
extend my best wishes for a happy, healthy and productive 93rd year. As 
his beloved Josephine often remarks, ``the best is yet to be.''

                          ____________________