[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 489]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING THE DEATH OF CLAIBORNE PELL

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 9, 2009

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Claiborne 
Pell, Princeton Graduate, former senator from Rhode Island, creator of 
Pell Grants, and writer of legislation that created the National 
Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. 
He served six terms in the office, until 1997.
  Words alone can not express my sincere admiration for Claiborne Pell 
and the legacy he has left behind: a program that has given grants to 
tens of millions of college students and will continue to give grants 
to generations of college students to come.
  I truly admire Claiborne Pell for his commitment to aiding students 
in paying for college education. The Pell Grants began with the 
creation of a bill that created the Basic Education Opportunity Grant 
(BEOG) which provided financial aid to the needy to attend college. The 
Basic Education Opportunity Grant (BEOG) was renamed in honor of Pell 
and his work for these grants in 1980 as Pell Grants: Pell had 
sponsored the research of a two-volume report that had been the basis 
of the bill that created the BEOG. Pell's dedication to providing 
assistance to college students in meeting the high costs of a college 
education will be remembered for years to come.
  Claiborne Pell was also very dedicated to the Arts and Humanities. He 
was the author of the National Foundation of the Arts and the 
Humanities Act of 1965. Both of these led to the creation of the 
National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the 
Humanities. The National Endowment for the Arts fostered many 
techniques and styles that are credited with making American artists 
distinguished worldwide.
  Mr. Pell's outstanding leadership, patriotism and accomplishments 
will surely serve as an inspiration for many Americans.

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