[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E93]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FRANKLIN CENTER FOR GLOBAL POLICY 
                                EXCHANGE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 6, 2023

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an important 
milestone in the history of The Franklin Center for Global Policy 
Exchange--the organization turns 45 this year. For those not familiar 
with the group, the Franklin Center was founded in 1978 and is a 
nonpartisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to enhancing 
understanding of important international issues.
  Along with its partner organization, The Ripon Society, The Franklin 
Center holds an international policy conference each year in a foreign 
capital. Called the TransAtlantic Capital to Capital Exchange, the 
policy conference brings Republican and Democratic lawmakers together 
with their legislative counterparts overseas to discuss and learn more 
about the challenges facing America and her allies around the world.
  Closer to home, the Franklin Center and Ripon Society also hold a 
dinner each year at one of our Nation's Presidential Libraries, where 
they present Members of Congress with the Roosevelt Leadership Award. 
This award honors those lawmakers who embody the qualities that 
Theodore Roosevelt spoke of when he said: ``The credit belongs to those 
who are actually in the arena, who strive valiantly . . . who at best 
know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if they fail, 
fail while daring greatly.''
  Finally, the Franklin Center and Ripon Society hold a bipartisan 
luncheon at the end of each year to honor the ``Unsung Heroes of 
Capitol Hill''--that is the schedulers and executive assistants who 
quietly and faithfully work behind the scenes to keep the trains 
running on time in both the House and the Senate.
  In addition to its work with the current generation of world leaders, 
the Franklin Center seeks to invest in the leaders of future 
generations by funding a scholarship program at Johns Hopkins 
University. The scholarship is named after The Honorable Connie 
Morella, who represented Maryland's 8th Congressional District in the 
U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 2003, and later served as 
Ambassador to the OECD from 2003 to 2007. A longtime supporter of the 
Franklin Center, Ambassador Morella currently serves as the Chairwoman 
Emeritus of the organization.
  The Constance A. Morella Scholarship is offered to an undergraduate 
student at the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns 
Hopkins and requires an independent research project that examines some 
of the most pressing questions in global affairs.
  At a time when so many groups and organizations seem to come and go 
in American politics, the Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange 
has been a fixture for 45 years. I congratulate them on this 
achievement and wish them all the best in the years ahead.

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