[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 27288]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 KENNEDY CENTER SALUTES ROBERT REDFORD

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, each year the Kennedy Center pays tribute 
to distinguished artists who have made extraordinary contributions to 
the American cultural experience. The Nation will be delighted to know 
that this year Robert Redford will receive one of these prestigious 
awards.
  Mr. Redford exemplifies the record of achievement and accomplishment 
that define the Kennedy Center Honors Awards. With special grace and 
great talent, he has become a legend in film. His roles as an actor are 
among the most memorable ever on screen. He can be charming, as he was 
in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and Barefoot in the 
Park. He can be serious, as he was in The Candidate and All the 
President's Men. And he is always compelling--never more so than in The 
Great Gatsby and A River Runs Through It.
  Mr. Redford is equally accomplished as a director and producer. But 
whether he stars, directs, or produces--and sometimes all three--a 
Redford project is always remarkable for its integrity, beauty, and 
power.
  In 2003, he was in Washington to deliver the annual Nancy Hanks 
Lecture on the role of the arts in public policy. This lecture is a 
tribute to the memory of Nancy Hanks, who served as the early chair of 
the National Endowment for the Arts, and Mr. Redford's lecture was 
especially fitting, because he believes so deeply in the fundamental 
importance of the arts in our public policy.
  His passionate belief in arts education has been a continuing part of 
his outstanding career. He founded the Sundance Institute as part of 
his lifelong commitment to expand opportunities for new works and new 
artists to ensure a vigorous American cultural legacy for future 
generations.
  I commend all that he has accomplished. It is a privilege to join in 
congratulating him on this well-deserved award from the Kennedy Center. 
I am sure my brother would be proud of him.

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