[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19344]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE KENNEDY POLITICAL UNION

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 2008

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, 40 years ago today a tradition began at 
the American University in Washington, DC. That tradition, which I am 
proud to say I was and continue to be a part of, began when Theodore 
Sorensen became the first speaker at the Kennedy Political Union at 
American University. I rise today to honor and recognize this 
institution for both its excellence and longevity.
  The Kennedy Political Union was founded to take advantage of American 
University's Washington, DC location. Since its inception the Kennedy 
Political Union has been student-run, student-funded, and non-partisan 
in its commitment to connecting American University students with the 
most compelling speakers on a wide variety of issues.
  Past speakers at the Kennedy Political Union have included Former 
Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and 
Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell, among 
hundreds of others who have come to share their views and experiences 
with thousands of American University students.
  As Director for the 1980-81 Kennedy Political Union Lecture Series, I 
hosted Israeli politician and diplomat Abba Eban; former Attorney 
General Ramsey Clark; Alger Hiss; U.S. Senators Howard Baker, Strom 
Thurmond and George McGovern, and others. The experience was a 
formative one for me, and I to this day have maintained my ties with 
the Kennedy Political Union and my alma mater.
  With today, September 16, 2008 marking the 40th Anniversary of the 
Kennedy Political Union, I want to congratulate each of the Directors 
who have promoted the organization's commitment to the expansion of 
political awareness and engagement. I want to thank the speakers who 
have made the organization what it is today, many of whom are former or 
current members of this body. And lastly I want to wish the Kennedy 
Political Union continued success now and in the future.

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