[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12663]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    SALUTING EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the first ever USA Special Olympics 
National Games will open this Saturday in Ames, IA. Looking ahead to 
this remarkable gathering of athletes, coaches, and family members from 
all across America, I want to salute the vision and leadership of 
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder and honorary chair of Special 
Olympics International.
  No individual in the world is more respected and admired for her 
tireless advocacy on behalf of people with intellectual disabilities. 
For four decades, Eunice has pursued this advocacy with her trademark 
passion and tenacity. As executive director of the Joseph P. Kennedy, 
Jr. Foundation, she has been instrumental in establishing the National 
Institute for Child Health and Human Development, as well as a network 
of mental retardation research centers at major medical schools across 
the United States.
  In 1968, she established her most enduring legacy, the Special 
Olympics. Starting in Eunice's own backyard as a day camp for children 
with mental retardation, it has grown into a global movement that 
serves more than 2.2 million adults and children with intellectual 
disabilities in more than 150 countries.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, will the Senator from Iowa yield?
  Mr. HARKIN. I would be happy to yield to the distinguished senior 
Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, as the Senator from Iowa knows, I am a 
longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, and a longtime friend and 
admirer of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her work. This remarkable 
American is a fine example of President Reagan's observation that you 
don't have to be on the public payroll in order to be an outstanding 
public servant.
  Anchorage, AK, was proud to host the 2001 Special Olympics Winter 
Games, which was the largest sporting event ever held in Alaska. In 
conjunction with that Special Olympics event, I chaired a Committee on 
Appropriations field hearing on promoting the health of individuals 
with intellectual disabilities. This was the first hearing of its kind 
devoted exclusively to the needs of people with intellectual 
disabilities.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am well aware of that historic hearing. 
This Saturday in Ames, I will chair a field hearing of the Labor/HHS/
Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which will essentially be a 
followup and update on the Senator's hearing in Anchorage 5 years ago.
  And let me just echo the Senator's observation that Eunice Kennedy 
Shriver, in a voluntary capacity, has been one of America's great 
public servants. Public officials in Washington have the persuasion of 
power, but the gentlewoman from Massachusetts has the power of 
persuasion. She has used that power brilliantly to advance the well 
being of people with intellectual disabilities all across the world. 
And I share with the Senator from Alaska and all of our colleagues in 
the Senate a deep respect and appreciation for Eunice Kennedy Shriver's 
lifetime of service.

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