[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12102-12112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
prayer
The Chaplain, the Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, offered the following
prayer:
Lord God of history, when former Members return to Congress, it
offers an opportunity to reflect upon the great heritage of
representative government that is America's historical legacy.
The record of Congress holds old and familiar stories, strong
exhortations, repeated corrections, and consoling confirmations of
hopes made real through difficult but persistent compromise in the
forming of enduring programs and legislation.
May the presence here of former Members bring a moment of pause,
where current Members consider the profiles they now form for future
generations of Americans.
May all former Members be rewarded for their contributions to this
constitutional Republic and continue to work and pray that the goodness
and justice of this beloved country be proclaimed to the nations.
Bless all former Members who have died, as we especially remember
today Robert Roe of New Jersey, who passed only yesterday. May their
families and their constituents be comforted during a time of mourning.
And bless those here gathered, that they may bring joy and hope to
the
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present age and supportive companionship to one another. Together, we
call upon Your holy name, now and forever.
Amen.
Pledge of Allegiance
The Honorable Barbara Kennelly led the Pledge of Allegiance as
follows:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of
America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Ms. KENNELLY. We will be visited by some Members of Congress, and as
they come in, I will recognize them.
Right now I recognize the chair, the Honorable Connie Morella.
Ms. MORELLA. Thank you, Barbara. It is always a distinct privilege to
be back here in this revered Chamber and we appreciate so much the
opportunity to present today the 44th annual report of the United
States Association of Former Members of Congress. I will be joined by
some of our colleagues in reporting on the activities and projects of
our organization since our last report to Congress in May of last year.
But first of all, I would like to ask the Clerk to call the roll.
The Clerk called the roll of the former Members of Congress, as
follows:
Ms. Byron of Maryland
Mr. Carnahan of Missouri
Mr. Carr of Michigan
Mr. Clement of Tennessee
Mr. Costello of Illinois
Mr. Coyne of Pennsylvania
Mr. Delahunt of Massachusetts
Mr. de Lugo of the Virgin Islands
Mr. Frey of Florida
Mr. Glickman of Kansas
Mr. Hertel of Michigan
Mr. Hughes of New Jersey
Ms. Kennelly of Connecticut
Mr. Kolbe of Arizona
Mr. Konnyu of California
Mr. Kramer of Colorado
Mr. Lancaster of North Carolina
Mr. LaRocco of Idaho
Ms. Long of Louisiana
Mr. Lungren of California
Ms. Morella of Maryland
Mr. Nelligan of Pennsylvania
Mr. Sarasin of Connecticut
Mr. Skaggs of Colorado
Mr. Smith of Florida
Mr. Stearns of Florida
Ms. KENNELLY. The Chair announces that 26 former Members of Congress
have responded to their names.
Ms. MORELLA. I want to thank you all for joining us today. Our
association, as you know, was chartered by Congress, and one
requirement of the charter is for us to report once a year to Congress
about our activities.
Many of you have joined us for several years on this occasion, and
there will be numerous programs and projects with which you now are
quite familiar. This is a sign of our association's stability and
purpose. We are extremely proud of our long history, of creating
lasting and impactful programs that teach about Congress and
representative government, and of our ability to take long-standing
projects and expand them and improve them.
In addition, you will hear today about a number of new endeavors,
ones that either were implemented during the last year or are now in
the planning stages for implementation in the near future. We will
report on our programming in just a minute.
Those of you who have been with us on previous occasions for this
report know that we traditionally bestow on a former Member our
association's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. During
this presentation in the House Chamber we traditionally have done that.
For a number of reasons, we will have the ceremony later today during a
special luncheon, and I certainly hope that all of you in attendance
here this morning can join us for the luncheon also.
Our 2014 distinguished service honoree is former Indiana
Representative Lee Hamilton, who has been an inspiration and a mentor
to so many of us. While the ceremony is not going to take place right
now, I do want to read into the Record the inscription of the plaque
that he will receive:
The 2014 Distinguished Service Award is presented by the
United States Association of Former Members of Congress to
the Honorable Lee H. Hamilton.
Congressman Hamilton has devoted his professional life to
public service and the advancement of our national prosperity
and security. In serving for over 30 years as a Member of
Congress representing the Ninth District of Indiana,
cochairing numerous Presidential Commissions tasked with
making our Nation more secure, directing the invaluable work
of the Woodrow Wilson Center, and creating a Center on
Congress at Indiana University to improve public
understanding of Congress, Lee Hamilton has approached every
test with the utmost integrity, insight, and good judgment.
For half a century, Congressman Hamilton has served our
Nation with honor by forging bipartisan solutions to our
world's complicated problems. Colleagues from both sides of
the aisle salute him as a distinguished and dedicated public
servant.
Washington, DC, July 16, 2014.
Maybe we should just give him a round of applause, and again, join us
later for the luncheon honoring him.
Now back to our report.
Ms. KENNELLY. Madam President? Excuse me, our leader is here.
Ms. PELOSI. Good morning, everyone.
Ms. MORELLA. Thank you for joining us, Leader Pelosi.
Ms. PELOSI. Hi, Connie. We see each other so often. We really do. Say
hi to Tony.
Good morning, everyone. My pleasure to welcome you once again to the
Capitol, to take the occasion to thank you all very much for your
service to our country, for the contributions that you have made over
time. Many of you, as I look around this room, served at a time when it
was a little more collegial atmosphere here. We hope to return to that.
But so much of the work that we do is built on foundations that you
all have laid. And we thank you for that. Your legacy will live into
the future. I saw in the paper this morning that our former Chairman
Roe passed away. The paper called him ``Mr. Jobs,'' and I thought, what
a wonderful title. Wouldn't we all like to be having that as what
people remember us by? But that's what our thrust is going to be.
I just might add, Madam Chair and Madam President, that this morning
on the steps of the Capitol Members will be going out there to talk
about jobs, about how to keep America number one. And all that we have
in there is stuff that we worked for in a bipartisan way, which is to
recognize the productivity of the American worker, the most productive
in the world, so to recognize that and have policies that help people,
as Steny would say, make it in America. That is A, American-made.
Build the infrastructure of our country and build small businesses.
It is about building. It is about recognizing that that
entrepreneurship and that innovation to keep America number one begins
in the classroom.
So our investments in education, especially making higher education
affordable, is a critical part of our agenda and recognizing also that
education begins at the earliest time. That is the childhood education.
But what I am excited about is to say the central core of what we are
about is, when women succeed, America succeeds. That is the title of
our economic agenda for families and the middle class. But it is not
just a title; it is a statement of fact. When women succeed, America
succeeds. The best thing we can do to grow our economy is to unleash
the power of women, increase the involvement of women, and that is with
fair pay, with paid sick leave, with, again, getting back to the
affordable child care, children learning, parents earning.
So we are very excited about helping that in the debate and the
coming elections--that it is not just about who wins, it is about how
the debate centers on family, American workers, our productivity, their
productivity, our economic success to keep America number one--anything
that we all haven't worked together on in the past.
So it's wonderful to see all of you. Congratulations.
Did I hear Lee Hamilton was getting the award? How lovely.
Congratulations to him and you, he bringing luster to your award, you
bringing honor to him.
But again, on behalf of all of our Members, I extend the warmest of
welcomes back to you, and in friendship
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and in love of our great country. So good morning, good luck in your
conversations and your deliberations. I look forward to seeing you in
the Halls of Congress as you do your work here on this visit. It is
always a very special treat to see. I am looking at each and every one
of you and having very happy memories about it all.
And thank you, Madam Chair, for your leadership; Connie, for yours.
Thank you all very much.
Ms. KENNELLY. Thank you, Madam Leader.
Ms. MORELLA. Thank you, Leader Pelosi, for your inspiring words, for
coming here to greet us, your former colleagues, and for explaining the
initiative on jobs and elevating women.
Leader Pelosi, I hope you noticed that this will be my last time as
president of the association. But you know, I am succeeded by another
woman.
Ms. PELOSI. All right.
Ms. MORELLA. So you see, we are moving ahead. This association is
progressive.
So now back to our report. Our association is bipartisan. It was
chartered by Congress in 1983. The purpose of the U.S. Association of
Former Members of Congress is to promote public service and strengthen
democracy, abroad and in the United States. About 600 former Senators
and Representatives belong to the association. Republicans, Democrats,
and Independents are united in this organization in their desire to
teach about Congress and the importance of representative democracy.
We are proud to have been chartered by Congress. We are also proud to
receive no funding from Congress. Well, I don't know. But nevertheless,
we receive no funding from Congress, which gives us the independence.
All our activities, which we are about to describe, are financed via
membership dues, program-specific grants and sponsors, or via our
fundraising dinner. Our finances are sound, our projects are fully
funded, and our most recent audit by an outside accountant confirmed
that we are running our association in a fiscally sound, responsible,
and transparent manner.
It has been a very successful, active, and rewarding year. We have
continued our work serving as a liaison between the current Congress
and legislatures overseas. We have created partnerships with highly
respected institutions in the area of democracy building and election
monitoring. We have developed new projects. We are expanding others.
And we again sent dozens of bipartisan teams of former Members of
Congress to teach about public service and representative democracy at
universities and high schools, both in the United States and abroad.
When this organization was created over 40 years ago, the former
Members who founded our association envisioned this organization to
take the lead in teaching about Congress and encouraging public
service. They were hoping that former Members could inspire the next
generation of America's leaders. Over the years, we have created a
number of programs, most importantly the Congress to Campus program, to
do just that.
We continue to work with our great partner, the Stennis Center for
Public Service. We thank them for their invaluable assistance in
administering the Congress to Campus program.
It is now my pleasure to yield to a former president of our
association, Larry LaRocco of Idaho, who, along with Jack Buechner of
Missouri, cochairs this great program.
Larry.
Mr. LaROCCO. Thank you, Madam President, for the opportunity to
report on this outstanding program. As most of you know, the Congress
to Campus program is FMC's flagship domestic program, and the one that
can engage former Members from all over the country.
Congress to Campus sends former Members in bipartisan teams to
colleges, universities, and high schools across the country and around
the world to educate the next generation of leaders about the value of
public service. The former Members volunteering their time communicate
with the students and faculty about their personal experiences and
knowledge about Congress. During each visit, our bipartisan teams lead
classes, meet one-on-one with students and faculty, speak to campus
media, participate in campus and community forums, and interact with
local citizens.
Institutions are encouraged to market the visit to the entire campus
community, not just to those students majoring in political science,
history, or government. Over the course of 2\1/2\ days, hundreds of
students from all areas of academic studies are exposed to the former
Members' message of public service and civility.
For the 2013-2014 academic year, the association visited over 20
college campuses, including visits to the United States Naval Academy,
Louisiana State University, Millersville University Miami of Ohio, New
York University, and University of Hawaii. More than 30 former Members
participated during the calendar year and academic year, and I want to
thank all of you who donated your time--pro bono--to this vital
program.
I also want to encourage our newest former Members and those who have
not yet had the opportunity to go on a visit to consider doing so, and
to encourage a friend from across the aisle to join you. It is an
excellent opportunity to continue your public service after Congress.
You can also make a pledge to connect with a host school, for example,
your alma mater, a college in your old district, or a university your
children or grandchild attends. Our staff will then follow up with you
to make the arrangements. Sharon Witiw runs the program and has all of
the information you need.
We are also thrilled to have continued our excellent partnership with
the Stennis Center for Public Service in the administration of the
program, and we owe a special debt of gratitude to Brother Rogers, the
associate director of the Stennis Center, for his fine work. Our staffs
work very closely together to make the program such a success.
The Congress to Campus program's international outreach sends
delegations to other countries. This past year we again sent two
delegations to the UK for 1 week to meet with several universities and
hundreds of British students studying foreign policy and the United
States.
And just a heads-up to my colleagues: former Member participation in
these overseas trips is based on how actively you participate in the
domestic visits. The visiting former Members become quasi-ambassadors
on behalf of the United States and really get to engage with these
foreign students.
This year we piloted a new concept within the Congress to Campus
program. Our pair of former Members was joined by two former German
Bundestag Members, who were also from opposing parties, for a weeklong
Congress to Campus visit to seven different college campuses. While
continuing to promote the role of public service, the former
legislators also spoke of the strong bilateral and multilateral
relationship between the United States and Germany, and Europe. The
program was well received, and we hope to replicate the program and
possibly expand it to include other international former legislators.
This fall, because of a grant award we received from iCohere, we will
be trying a new concept and will be hosting a virtual Congress to
Campus seminar program. This seminar will take place over 3 days and
will reach hundreds of community college students throughout the
country. In two of the three sessions, the former Members will focus on
a substantive topic, and the third session will incorporate those
topics with the upcoming midterm elections and the impact of the
results.
We also continue our relationship with the People to People programs,
an organization that provides hands-on learning opportunities for
elementary school, middle school, and high school students visiting
Washington, D.C. On each visit, former Members meet and speak with
students about the importance of public service, their personal
experiences in Congress, and the value of character and leadership.
In the spring of 2014, two speaking engagements were held in
``Congressional Panel'' format. The events take
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place on Capitol Hill, and not only feature a former Member speaker,
but also several Hill staffers and interns. This gives students the
opportunity to learn what it is really like to work in the U.S.
Congress.
People to People visits are oftentimes in the middle of the business
day, and we are grateful to those former Members who take time out of
their schedules to connect with students touring our Nation's Capital.
It is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Finally, I would like to take a moment to thank former Member Matt
McHugh, who has retired as cochair of the Congress to Campus program
this year. Matt, who held that position for over 7 years and was also
the association's president, provided thoughtful and considerable
leadership to this program. His insight and guidance to the staff can
be directly associated with the success of the program. I want to say
again how grateful I am personally and on behalf of all of our
membership for his dedication and support of our principal and longest-
standing program. I have big shoes to step into by replacing Matt as
the cochair of the Congress to Campus program, but I know that, along
with Jack, I will continue Matt's good work and hope to help the
program grow.
We are grateful to Matt, Jack, and all former Members who have
participated over the years to help make the Congress to Campus program
such a success in its 37 years. I strongly encourage all of my friends
and colleagues to participate in the program, either by making a visit
to a school or by recommending a school to host the program. It is
easy. My alma mater, the University of Portland, has had a program. My
other alma mater, Boston University, is hosting a program this year. So
all you have got to do is pick up the phone and contact them. It will
work, believe me.
As you know, a democracy can prosper only if its citizens are both
informed and engaged, and as former legislators, we have a particular
opportunity and responsibility to encourage such involvement. This
program gives us the opportunity to do so, particularly with our young
people.
Thank you.
Ms. MORELLA. Thank you, Larry. As a matter of fact, we have the same
alma mater, Boston University. We are doing a Congress to Campus
program very soon. We appreciate the great work that you and Jack do on
behalf of this very important undertaking.
And let me associate myself with your remarks about Matt McHugh. He
has been an invaluable and a much-appreciated leader of this
organization, whether during his time as president or, more recently,
as cochair of this program. Matt, this entire organization thanks you
for your sage counsel and outstanding governance for so many years.
Let's hear it for Matt.
As you may recall from our last report to Congress, the association
has put some energy and focus into the question of bipartisanship and
civility in our political dialogue. We are furthering this important
work via the Common Ground Project. The purpose of the Common Ground
Project is to involve citizens in a dialogue about the issues of the
day, have a vigorous debate that is both partisan and productive, and
benefit from the experience of respecting a differing point of view.
Some of our existing undertakings already fit in very nicely with this
objective, for example, the Congress to Campus program that we just had
Larry LaRocco report on.
And to give you more background about the Common Ground Project, I
invite my colleague from Tennessee, former Member Bob Clement, to share
a report.
Bob.
We interrupt this about-to-be report for the Chair.
Ms. KENNELLY. And we are really very honored to be able to welcome
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Boehner.
Mr. BOEHNER. Good morning.
Good morning, and let me just say welcome back to all of you. It has
been a long year since you were here last, but over the course of the
year I think you all know we lost former Speaker Tom Foley. We lost our
good friend Bill Young. And over the course of the last 6 months or so
we have had a number of retirements, from Henry Waxman and George
Miller, to Dave Camp and Doc Hastings, Buck McKeon, and my good friend
Tom Latham.
And so the institution, the institution is actually doing pretty
well. I know from the outside people don't quite see that, but I think
a lot of you know I am committed to an open process on the floor,
amendments from both sides of the aisle. We have had a much more open
process, and I think the result of that is we are beginning to see more
bipartisan legislation.
Last week we came to an agreement with the House and the Senate in a
bipartisan, bicameral way on a job training and retraining bill to
consolidate programs and make it easier for people to get the kind of
training they need for the jobs that are out there today.
And then when it comes to the appropriations process, we have been
trying to restart this process over the last 3 or 4 years. Today on the
floor I think we have got our seventh appropriations bill of the year.
Of course, you know, our challenge is always across the Capitol,
because they have done exactly none, no appropriation bills. But I do
think it is important for us to get this appropriation process up and
running in the way it should. It hasn't happened for the last 6 or 7
years, and I think we here in the Congress lose our ability to really
direct spending as a result of that.
But by and large, I feel pretty good about where we are. You know, it
is an election year, so you all have a pretty good idea of what that
means in terms of what happens around here. My big job is making sure
we avoid all the potholes between now and election day, and there are
some out there.
But anyway, my job this morning is to just say hi to all of you, and
welcome you back, and hope that you all have a nice visit here in your
old home, the U.S. House.
Thanks.
Ms. KENNELLY. Thank you, Speaker Boehner.
The program will continue.
Mr. CLEMENT. Well, thank you, Connie.
My report is about the Common Ground Project. One of the many joys of
being active with this wonderful association is that it brings together
Republicans and Democrats for our many programs, such as during our
annual meeting and charitable golf tournament and for panel
discussions, as well as other presentations. Everything we do is
bipartisan. Our board is divided evenly between Republicans and
Democrats, and our leadership rotates between the parties.
As we all know, currently, our Congress--and indeed our country--is
going through a period of great polarization and partisanship. While we
certainly don't leave our political beliefs at the door when
participating in association activities, we pride ourselves in creating
an environment where an across-the-aisle dialogue not only is possible,
but also the norm. We have institutionalized this approach in a program
that we call the Common Ground Project.
The purpose of Common Ground is to create venues and events where our
bipartisan approach can involve the public in a dialogue on the issues
of the day. Our long-standing programs, most importantly the Congress
to Campus program, already fit neatly into the vision of the Common
Ground Project. Other undertakings were created specifically by us to
further this project.
For example, we are extremely proud of our partnership with the
National Archives, which has brought dozens of former Members from both
sides of the aisle together with the public for panel discussions and a
productive, as well as a respectful, political dialogue.
Our most recent panels include a look at the Civil Rights Act and the
Voting Rights Act and their impact 50 years after passage. Another
discussion focused on women in politics and political leadership, which
included Leader Pelosi. Even though she is not a former Member, we let
her participate.
Just last month, we brought together former Members John Tanner,
Chris Shays, and Speaker Denny Hastert, with Washington Post journalist
Bob Woodward and former Clinton press
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secretary Mike McCurry for a conversation about the role Congress plays
in our foreign policy and international crises.
We also try to involve current Members in our Common Ground Project.
One thing you will hear quite often from former Members is that we were
able to spend more time with our colleagues from either side of the
aisle and had more of an opportunity to get to know each other on a
personal basis. For a number of reasons, current Members no longer have
that time and the luxury of building personal relationships. It is
awfully hard to negotiate with someone and to trust someone when you
don't have a foundation that is rooted in knowing one another.
One small way of bringing current Members together was accomplished
again in partnership with the National Archives. We invited freshman
Members from both parties to bring their families to the National
Archives for an open house around Christmas time. While the Members and
their spouses had a chance to view some of the documents and treasures
at the Archives, their kids were able to explore the great learning
center the Archives created for research and treasure hunting. The
Members then learned from Archives staff about congressional papers and
the responsibility Members have making their personal papers part of
the Congressional Record.
There are quite a number of other activities that contribute to our
Common Ground Project, and the list is too long to include. I know and
you know that a lot of us attack the issues rather than our fellow
colleagues, whether they be Democrat or Republican. We knew how to
compromise. We knew how to work together to get things done, and I
think the time has come when we need to identify all the problems
associated with this Congress, how we can help them, how we can support
them, and how we can show them where we have gotten off track.
This is something Common Ground can do because the fact is that
Common Ground is an opportunity for us to solve a lot of problems that
have not been solved, and it is time for us and for this Congress and
future Congresses to start solving problems, and there is nothing wrong
with the word ``compromise.''
I know my Aunt Anna Belle Clement O'Brien was in the State senate,
and she used the expression--and you all sent me to the U.K. recently,
and they don't call it political science. They call it politics. They
don't call it political science. When you ask a student what they major
in, they say: Oh, I major in politics.
Well, I picked up on that because my Aunt Anna Belle in Tennessee
would always end her speeches:
Politics builds roads. Politics builds schools. Politics
builds mental hospitals. Politics is compromise.
Maybe we can all work together on Common Ground Project and make it
happen again because this is too great of a country for us to be
wandering.
Thank you.
Ms. MORELLA. Thank you very much, Bob.
I am glad you listened to your aunt. We appreciate also the work you
have done on this very important project and also the fact that you are
on our board of directors, and that is very helpful.
A great example of how productive and powerful bipartisan can be is
our annual congressional golf tournament. It is chaired by our
immediate past president, Dennis Hertel of Michigan, and fellow board
member, Ken Kramer of Colorado. I would now yield the floor to Ken
Kramer to give us a brief report about the charitable golf tournament.
Ken.
Mr. KRAMER. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I note the adjective
``brief,'' and I will try to comply.
Seven years ago, we took a 35-year tradition, our annual golf
tournament which pits Republicans against Democrats, and we gave it a
new and bigger mission. We converted it into a charitable golf
tournament to aid severely wounded vets that are returning from Iraq
and Afghanistan. Our beneficiaries are Warfighter Sports, which is a
program of Disabled Sports USA, and Tee it up for the Troops, which use
golf and other sports to help our wounded veterans readjust to life
after sustaining very severe injuries. They involve the entire family
in the sport. They provide equipment. They provide training.
Our seventh charitable event will be held in 2 weeks, July 28th, at
Army Navy Country Club in Arlington. All together, these tournaments
are closing in on raising almost a half a million dollars for these
outstanding programs, and I might add that, since this statement was
written, recent receipts would indicate that we have now hit that half
million dollar mark.
During each of our past tournaments, we have had several dozen
current and former Members from both sides of our aisle come together
to support these troops, and they have met in the process with dozens
of these warriors, many of whom play with us in our foursomes, and I
might add some of our double amputees are much better than our Members.
It is an incredibly humbling, rewarding--and I mean humbling--rewarding
and memorable experience to spend the day in the presence of these
outstanding men and women.
I want to thank everyone at the association, particularly Sharon
Witiw, as well as Dennis Hertel, our tournament's cochair, for all that
they have done to make our tournament such a success, and equally
important, I am happy to report that we again have secured the
leadership of our two outstanding current cochairs from last year,
Congressman Mike McIntyre of North Carolina and Congressman Jimmy
Duncan of Tennessee.
Their leadership has really energized our event and contributed big
time to its success. I also want to thank our many sponsors for their
generous contributions, and many of these sponsors have come back year
after year to support this worthy cause.
It is an honor to help such an incredibly deserving group, and again,
our tournament is on July 28th. For those of you who have not signed
up, we hope that you will do so.
We now call this tournament The Members, by the way, but unlike The
Masters, you don't need to play at that pro level to have an enjoyable
day. All you have to do is show up and help raise some much-needed
funds, and you don't have to worry about your skill set to be able to
participate. It is 100 percent about helping these warriors. Your
handicap is not really that important. Your individual score is not
kept. We play a scramble format, and this event can only be successful
if you out there will give it your time and attention.
If you only golf once a year, this is the day to do it. Please let us
know if you can either help or you know any people that we can recruit
as sponsors, and thank you for your time and attention, and I hope I
met the instruction of brief.
Ms. MORELLA. Congratulations to you, Ken, on the success of the
program. It is patriotic, it is humanitarian, it is very moving. We are
very honored that the association can play a small role in the
rehabilitation of these amazing young men and women.
In addition to the domestic programs that we have described so far,
our association also has a very active and far-reaching international
focus. We conduct programs focused on Europe and Asia. We bring current
Members of Congress together with their peers in legislatures that are
overseas. We work with our Department of State to talk about
representative democracy with audiences overseas, and we partner with
former parliamentarians from other countries for democracy-
strengthening missions.
Some of these programs involve former Members as active participants.
Others focus on current Members who benefit from the input and
contributions of former Members in Congress' international outreach.
I want to yield right now the floor to a former president of our
association, Dennis Hertel of Michigan, to report on these
international projects that are predominantly former Member driven.
Dennis.
Mr. HERTEL. Well, thank you, Madam President.
I like the sound of that. Maybe we will see that soon in our future
for our country.
[[Page 12107]]
You know, we have this great privilege of being able to come on the
House floor and to bring groups on the House floor, and one of the
first things that I tell the students that I am able to take here is
what a great--one of the greatest changes I have seen take place in the
last 30 years is the number of women in Congress and in the House and
the Senate. It is just amazing.
My wife says we still have a long way to go because women are 51
percent of the population, but we have made tremendous strides, and it
was a great honor to have former Speaker Pelosi here this morning, the
first woman Speaker, and have her talk about women in the economy and
what they are proposing, the changes that we are making.
In our association, you know, recently, we lost Lindy Boggs, who was
our first woman president, and she was just such a wonderful mentor and
example for all of us, and now, we have been privileged to have
President Connie Morella of our association, who has achieved so much
and expanded our reach in so many areas--in all areas, really,
internationally with more contacts and more visits by our former
Members, more exchanges, and more education because of that.
As far as being able to strengthen our association as far as raising
funds, nobody has made the strides that Connie Morella has made for us,
especially by bringing in the international community because of her
experience as an Ambassador, and I have always said, as I saw it here
in the legislature and then in Congress with my experience, women were
able to accomplish more.
They have this network, but more than a network, they have this
attitude of let's get it done, and I think they have been bipartisan
leaders in the Congress, in the House, and in the Senate, and are an
example for our entire Nation.
So it is my great privilege to thank, on behalf of the association,
Connie Morella for all she has done.
Connie, would you please come up here for a minute?
We have a plaque, which can never capture all that she has done, but
from the United States Association of Former Members of Congress, it
says:
To the Honorable Connie Morella, in recognition and
appreciation of her strong leadership as president of the
United States Association of Former Members of Congress. Her
tremendous enthusiasm and effectiveness will always be
remembered by her grateful colleagues.
Washington, D.C., July 16, 2014.
Ms. MORELLA. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dennis. This is a great
surprise. It reminds me of something that Will Shakespeare--and I think
really it was his wife who wrote it--who said:
For these great blessings heaped upon me, I can nothing
render but allegiant thanks.
Thank you very much.
Mr. HERTEL. I echo what Connie said about continuing now with a woman
vice president becoming our president today, Barbara Kennelly.
Let me talk about the international programs briefly. I am going to
try to move through it because I know the Members have heard this
information before. I already got rid of two pages here.
They are more or less divided into two types of projects. One is
composed of international projects that include former Members in
democracy-strengthening missions, such as election monitoring. The
other is composed of international projects, where our association
serves as a bridge between current Members and their peers in
legislative branches overseas.
During my time as president, I always felt it was this international
work that really gave our association an opportunity to make a very
important contribution that was unique. Because our Members, unlike the
dropping in for a meeting today and going to another country, as
current Members have to do, and getting back here for session--which is
the biggest difference between our Congress and the other Parliaments,
since our Congress has more power, the power of the budget, the power
of the purse under the Constitution, and it is not from the top down.
Our Members are so independent. They are so busy on their schedules
and never able to attend the international conferences as much as the
former Members are, who are also able to hang around the country and do
some actual democracy building and not just drop in on election day for
monitoring, so that is what I have been most proud of what we have been
able to accomplish, and I think that there is a much wider area for us
to go in.
I know, Pete, I haven't been anyplace in the last 4 years, and I
think a lot of Members here haven't, and we are looking forward to more
opportunities for our Former Members Association because of that
difference that we can make in so many ways.
We have internationalized the outreach of the Global Democracy
Initiative and have worked in a wonderful partnership with our Canadian
and European colleagues on that to strengthen democracy abroad. This
has always been some of the most rewarding work that we have done as an
association, and I think we can do more.
Frankly, we have had a problem of funding. The Canadians were able to
get us some international funding to keep us going from their
government, but we have to reach out to do more monitoring in foreign
nations, and we have to convince international and national charities
and foundations that we are the ones that can do it better than others.
When we put you guys on the ground, you will know the first day what
the politics of the situation is. Other people, you know, can't be
trained to have those kinds of instincts and knowledge that you have,
so, you know, I know that our people can make a greater difference if
we can have more opportunities.
We also have numerous groups of legislators from emerging democracies
come to Washington for a better understanding of our representative
government and our form of democracy. These conversations and meetings
are always two-way streets.
I learn so much more, and I have to sometimes explain the elections
of Ohio and Florida to our international visitors and contacts because
all the questions aren't just in foreign countries.
Our voting percent in this country is only 50 percent, and 100 years
ago, that percentage was 85 percent. If we look at our primary
elections, which we just saw in Virginia as a prime example, we are
seeing less than 20 percent of the people vote. When you divide that
into two political parties, it is less than 12 percent of the people
are electing a candidate in the way the gerrymandered districts are.
That is only of registered voters. If you talk about the total
population, we are down to about maybe 8 percent of the population of
those districts electing people to Congress.
So we have a lot of reform to do in our country, and I think we can
be the leaders in that, also in showing not only what we can do
internationally, but nationally.
Our most recent group from the Middle East and North Africa was
composed of young professionals from Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and
included young men and women working in the private sector or in their
governments and coming to Washington for a monthlong fellowship that we
facilitate with offices on Capitol Hill.
Larry LaRocco has been a great leader in this, and these are young
people, for the most part, that can learn from our experience and
programs. We promote a positive relationship between the United States
and north Africa, which in light of the Arab Spring and all the crises
we see today--and tragedies--is more vital than ever.
Our association connects the fellows with former Members, who they
meet with several times over the course of their stay. The former
Members act as a kind of mentor to these young men and women through
one-on-one meetings, roundtable discussions, and by attending program
discussions and events.
I have been very impressed at how much time our former Members spend
and how much personally they are able to make connections with these
people, and these ongoing relationships that can last for years, and
many of these people will be in areas of leadership in the future in
their country.
[[Page 12108]]
The goal of this program is to seek a better understanding between
cultures and establish an avenue of dialogue between nations. It is a
unique opportunity to create a constructive political and cultural
discourse between the United States and north Africa, and we are very
proud of what the association has accomplished.
In addition to hosting visiting delegations, our association
organizes former Member delegations to travel overseas, and we are
hoping to increase that and engage overseas audiences--students,
government officials, NGOs, and corporate representatives--in a
dialogue about the many challenges that are global in nature and
require across-border communications.
You already heard that our Congress to Campus program has a very
active international component and that we've brought the program to
numerous universities and countries, such as Turkey, the U.K., and
Germany. Other overseas delegations--we call them ExDELs--have traveled
to countries where dialogue is often difficult--we have to get a better
term than ExDELs--but it is also an incredibly important one.
Of the major ones that we have been able to start a few years ago is
with China, and we are privileged to have Mark Gold with us here on the
House floor here today, who really set up this program for our
association.
It has been one of the most extensive that we have because we have a
group of former House Members go, but also an additional group of
former Senators go, and again, it is always bipartisan. Lou Frey has
been one of the leaders in this and was on our first trip.
Since our inaugural delegation, we have sent six additional
delegations to China over the past three years. Just last month, five
former Members--Jim Slattery, Tim Roemer, Steve Bartlett, Jon
Christensen, and Don Bonker--made up our seventh China delegation.
This bipartisan delegation traveled to Beijing, Chengdu, and
Shanghai. They met with an incredible array of people, including
Chinese scholars, the American Chamber of Commerce, China's Foreign
Ministry, students at Beijing University, the National People's
Congress, and, of course, the U.S. Embassy.
The delegation arrived in China the day after our government
announced pursuing an indictment against the Chinese military for
hacking our computers, so you can imagine what the main topic of
conversation was. For a while, it looked like the Chinese were going to
cancel all our meetings, but thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and
the delegates had a very open and very productive exchange with the
Chinese on a number of important topics, including energy policy, the
South China Sea, North Korea, and trade relations.
In my mind, there is no better and no more powerful exchange than one
that is face to face and builds a network of contacts. I think the
China project is an excellent example of the great contribution our
association can make.
We have now sent seven ExDELs to China over the past three years. We
serve as an American voice overseas while in China, and we debrief both
Congress and the State Department upon our return.
I should make sure to thank your partners for this project, who have
worked with us to make all seven ExDELs possible. We really appreciate
the great partnership we have with the China-United States Exchange
Foundation and the China Association for International Friendly
Contact.
It pains me when I see current Members of Congress get beaten up in
the press for traveling overseas. There really is not a single issue
that does not have global implications or could not benefit from the
point of view of someone who has dealt with the same issue in their
country.
One of the great liberating aspects of being a former Member is that
we can travel and explore and have discussions without having to worry
how the press may misconstrue our journeys in some cynical way, and in
addition, I greatly enjoyed getting to know my fellow travelers from
both sides of the aisle, so there is some real bipartisan camaraderie
that comes from having this common experience.
I am very glad that our association can support Congress'
international outreach in such a meaningful, productive, and bipartisan
way.
Thank you.
Thank you, Connie. While I appreciate very much the opportunity to
report on our international programs, I would first like to invite
Connie Morella back to the dais please, and I'd also like to have
Barbara Kennelly come down to the dais for a second. I think we're ok
without a Presiding Officer for a quick moment. Connie Morella has done
a tremendous job as our Association's President, and Barbara has been
an excellent Vice President. Let's please give the two of them a round
of applause. Thank you! Connie is now moving into the Immediate Past
President position on our executive committee and Barbara will take
over as President. I just wanted to take a moment to thank Connie for
her tremendous leadership, which has elevated our organization to new
heights and we have taken yet another leap forward thanks to Connie's
energy and commitment. On behalf of our membership, board of directors,
and our staff, I would like to present to Connie this plaque as a small
token of our appreciation. It reads:
``To the Honorable Connie Morella in recognition and appreciation of
her strong leadership as President of the US Association of Former
Members of Congress. Her tremendous enthusiasm and effectiveness will
always be remembered by her grateful colleagues. Washington, DC July
16, 2014.''
I'd like everyone to please join me in a well-deserved round of
applause for Connie Morella.
Thank you! And now let me continue our report by telling you about
our many international programs, which are more or less divided into
two types of projects: one is composed of international projects that
include former Members in democracy strengthening missions such as
election monitoring; and the other is composed of international
projects where our Association serves as a bridge between current
Members and their peers in legislative branches overseas. During my
time as President of this Association, I always felt that it was this
international work that really gave our Association an opportunity to
make an impactful and important contribution. As a matter of fact, we
institutionalized this outreach in what is now the Global Democracy
Initiative, and have worked in wonderful partnership with our Canadian
and European colleagues to strengthen democracy abroad. This has always
been some of the most rewarding work I've done with our Association,
and I am thrilled that we continue to put so much effort into this
aspect of our programming.
Via the former Members Association, I have met with numerous groups
of legislators from emerging democracies who have come to Washington
for a better understanding of our representative government and our
form of democracy. These conversations and meetings are always two-way
streets, and I learn as much--if not more--from our visitors as they do
from me. In addition to elected officials, our Association has had an
active project--in partnership with a great NGO called Legacy
International--bringing young professionals from the Middle East and
North Africa to the United States. Our most recent group was composed
of young professionals from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, and included
young men and women working in the private sector or in their
governments and coming to Washington for a month-long fellowship that
we facilitate with offices on Capitol Hill.
Our program promotes a positive relationship between the United
States and North Africa, which, in light of the Arab Spring is now more
vital than ever. Our Association connects the Fellows with former
Members, whom they meet with several times over the course of their
stay. The former Members act as a kind of mentor to these young men and
women through one-on-one meetings, roundtable discussions, and by
attending program discussions and events.
The goal of this program is to seek a better understanding between
cultures and establish an avenue of dialogue between nations. It is a
unique opportunity to create a constructive political and cultural
discourse between the United States and North Africa, and I am very
proud that our Association can be a part in such a vital dialogue.
I had the opportunity to meet wonderful young women and men through
this project. They are inspirational and impressive, and I benefited
greatly by having spent some time with them.
In addition to hosting visiting delegations, our Association
organizes former Member delegations to travel overseas and engage
overseas audiences--students, government officials, NGOs and corporate
representatives--in a dialogue about the many challenges that are
global in nature and require across-border
[[Page 12109]]
communication. You already heard that our Congress to Campus Program
has a very active international component, and that we've brought the
program to numerous universities in countries such as Turkey and the
UK. Other overseas delegations, we call them ExDELs, have travelled to
countries where a dialogue is often difficult but nonetheless
incredibly important.
I had the privilege to participate in our very first ExDEL to China a
number of years ago. Some of my travel companies, for example Lou Frey,
are here today, and they can attest to what an educational and
impactful experience that China ExDEL was. Since our inaugural
delegation, we have sent six additional delegations to China over the
past three years. Just last month, five former Members--Jim Slattery,
Tim Roemer, Steve Bartlett, Jon Christensen, and Don Bonker, made up
our seventh China delegation. This bipartisan delegation traveled to
Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai. They met with an incredible array of
people, including Chinese scholars, the American Chamber of Commerce,
China's Foreign Ministry, students at Beijing University, the National
People's Congress, and, of course, the U.S. Embassy. The delegation
arrived in China the day after our government announced pursuing an
indictment against the Chinese military for hacking our computers, so
you can imagine what the main topic of conversation was! For a while it
looked like the Chinese were going to cancel all our meetings, but
thankfully cooler heads prevailed and the delegates had a very open and
very productive exchange with the Chinese on a number of important
topics, including energy policy, the South China Sea, North Korea, and
trade relations.
In my mind there is no better and no more powerful exchange than one
that is face-to-face and builds a network of contacts. I think the
China project is an excellent example of the great contribution our
Association can make. We have now sent seven ExDELs to China over the
past three years. We serve as an American voice overseas while in
China, and we debrief both Congress and the State Department upon our
return. And I should make sure to thank your partners for this project,
who have worked with us to make all seven ExDELs possible. We really
appreciate the great partnership we have with the China U.S. Exchange
Foundation and the China Association for International Friendly
Contact.
It pains me when I see current Members of Congress get beaten up in
the press for traveling overseas. There really is not a single issue
that does not have global implications or could not benefit from the
point of view of someone who has dealt with the same issue in their
country. One of the great liberating aspects of being a former Member
is that we can travel and explore and have discussions without having
to worry how the press may misconstrue our journeys in some cynical
way. And in addition, I greatly enjoyed getting to know my fellow
travelers from both sides of the aisle, so there is some real
bipartisan camaraderie that comes from having this common experience. I
am very glad that our Association can support Congress' international
outreach in such a meaningful, productive and bipartisan way. Thank
you.
Ms. MORELLA. Thanks, Dennis.
I particularly liked the tribute you gave me. Thank you very much.
Thanks for your leadership and your active involvement in the
international programs. I am very acutely aware of the power of
personal interaction and people making an effort to bridge the cultural
divide. The examples that you mentioned, the China ExDELs and the north
African Legislative Fellows Program, certainly are important
contributions we can make.
Actually, not all of our programs focus exclusively on former
Members. As was mentioned earlier, we have a number of projects that
benefit from former Member leadership that involve primarily current
Members and their peers overseas. We call these programs Congressional
Study Groups. Our focus is on Germany, Turkey, Japan, Europe as a
whole.
To give you more background about the Congressional Study Groups,
which are working so satisfactorily, I want to invite former Member
Russ Carnahan of Missouri to the dais.
Russ.
Mr. CARNAHAN. Thank you, Connie, and thank you for your leadership of
the association. I also want to thank the staff of the Former Members
that really back up and make these programs work for all those who
participate.
Just on a personal note, I want to recognize and acknowledge the
passing of our friend and former Member, Ike Skelton of Missouri this
past year.
It is really a great pleasure to work on, to report on the four
Congressional Study Groups for Germany, Japan, Turkey, and Europe, the
flagship international programs for the Former Members of Congress over
three decades.
The Study Groups are independent, bipartisan legislative exchanges
for current Members and their senior staff and serve as educational
forums and invaluable tools for international dialogue with the goal of
creating better understanding.
We have great leadership from both Houses that are bipartisan. The
Study Group model focuses on high-level dialogue on pressing issues
surrounding security, energy, trade issues that affect our key
bilateral and multilateral relationships with our partners abroad.
Highlights from the past year include our inaugural Member delegation
to Japan in February, and also here in Washington hosting the Study
Groups. They welcomed several groups of legislators and executive
branch members throughout the year from Germany, Japan, Turkey, and the
EU Parliament.
Looking ahead to the fall, we want to continue our longstanding
Congress-Bundestag Seminar by welcoming a group of Bundestag members to
Washington and Pennsylvania in September.
The work of the Congressional Study Groups is complemented by our
Diplomatic Advisory Council. Initially focused on European nations, the
Diplomatic Advisory Council is now comprised of three dozen ambassadors
from six continents who advise and participate in our programming.
Finally, I would like to thank the institutions and foundations and
companies which support our mission. We would like to give particular
thanks to Admiral Dennis Blair and Ms. Junko Chano of the Sasakawa
Peace Foundation USA, Mr. Friedrich Merz and Ms. Eveline Metzen of
Atlantik-Brucke, Ms. Karen Donfried and Ms. Maia Comeau of the German
Marshall Fund, and Ms. Paige Cottingham-Streater and Ms. Margaret
Mihori of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission for their support as our
Study Group Institutional Funders.
And finally, a shout-out to the international business community here
in Washington, and the list of those supporters is much too long to
mention here in my formal remarks. Those will be submitted for the
Record here today, but it is because of their financial support, our
activities not only helped to build vital bilateral relationships
between legislators, but also bipartisan relationships with our own
Congress.
This mutual understanding and shared experiences among legislators
are critical to solving pressing problems both here and abroad. As
former Members, we are proud to bring the important services provided
by the Congressional Study Groups to our colleagues still in office and
are proud to play an active role in their continued international
outreach.
Thank you.
It gives me great pleasure to report on the work of The Congressional
Study Groups on Germany, Japan, Turkey and Europe, the flagship
international programs of FMC for over three decades. The Study Groups
are independent, bipartisan legislative exchanges for current Members
of Congress and their senior staff and serve as educational forums and
invaluable tools for international dialogue with the goal of creating
better understanding and cooperation between the United States and its
most important strategic and economic partners.
Each Study Group is led by a bipartisan, bicameral pair of Members of
Congress. I would like to acknowledge the service of all of our co-
chairs for their hard work and dedication to these critical programs.
The Congressional Study Group on Germany, celebrating its 31st
anniversary of bringing Members of the U.S. Congress together with
their counterparts in the German Bundestag, has been led over the past
year by Senator Jeff Sessions, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Representative
Charlie Dent, and Representative Tim Ryan. Our Japan Study Group
celebrates its 21st anniversary this year led by Senator Mazie K.
Hirono, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Representative Shelley Moore Capito,
Representative
[[Page 12110]]
Diana DeGette, Representative Billy Long, and Representative Jim
McDermott.
Representative Gerry Connolly and Representative Ed Whitfield
continue to lead The Study Group on Turkey. And Senator Chris Murphy,
Representative Jeff Fortenberry, and Representative Peter Welch chair
our Study Group on Europe, our newest and fastest growing Study Group.
Finally, The Study Groups would also like to extend special
acknowledgement to its Honorary Co-Chairs, former Speaker Dennis
Hastert and Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, who remain active in our
programming.
The Study Group model focuses on high-level dialogue on pressing
issues surrounding security, energy, and trade issues that affect our
key bilateral and multilateral relationships with our partners abroad.
Instead of lengthy speeches, an informal atmosphere has proved to
better promote relationship building and understanding among
international legislators. Over the past year, topics of conversation
have included TTIP and TPP trade negotiations, natural gas exports, and
security concerns in the East China Sea and Eastern Europe among
others. The cornerstone of our programming is periodic roundtable
discussions on Capitol Hill for Members of Congress and visiting
foreign and U.S. officials and dignitaries. In addition, The
Congressional Study Groups on Germany and Japan offer travel
opportunities for Members of Congress in the form of Annual Seminars
both at home and abroad, and all four Study Groups conduct bipartisan
study tours abroad for senior congressional staff.
Highlights from the past year included our inaugural Member
delegation to Japan in February, which included in-depth meetings with
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, and the
Ministers of Agriculture, Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Economy, Trade,
and Industry. Here in Washington, The Study Groups welcomed several
groups of legislators and executive branch members throughout the year
from Germany, Japan, Turkey, and the EU Parliament. Looking ahead to
the fall, we look forward to continuing our longstanding Congress-
Bundestag Seminar by welcoming a group of Bundestag Members to
Washington and Pennsylvania in September.
The work of The Congressional Study Groups is complemented by our
Diplomatic Advisory Council. Initially focused on European nations, the
Diplomatic Advisory Council is now comprised of three dozen ambassadors
from six continents who advise and participate in our programming.
Their interest and commitment to multilateral dialogue is a valued
addition to The Congressional Study Groups and provides a valuable
outreach beyond our four core Study Groups.
Finally, I would like to thank the institutions, foundations, and
companies which support our mission. We would like to give particular
thanks to Admiral Dennis Blair and Ms. Junko Chano of Sasakawa Peace
Foundation USA, Mr. Friedrich Merz and Ms. Eveline Metzen of Atlantik-
Brucke, Ms. Karen Donfried and Ms. Maia Comeau of the German Marshall
Fund, and Ms. Paige Cottingham-Streater and Ms. Margaret Mihori of the
Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission for their support as our Study Group
Institutional Funders.
The Congressional Study Groups are also grateful for the support of
the international business community here in Washington, D.C.,
represented by each Study Group's Business Advisory Council. Companies
of the 2014 Council include Allianz; Airbus Americas; Honda; B. Braun
Medical; Central Japan Railway Company; Cheniere Energy; Daimler;
Deutsche Telekom; DHL Deutsche Post; Eli Lilly and Company; Fresenius;
Hitachi; Lufthansa German Airlines; Marubeni America Corporation;
Mitsubishi International Corporation; Mitsui; Representative of German
Industry and Trade; Sojitz; Toyota Motor North America; United Parcel
Service; and Volkswagen of America.
Because of your financial support, our activities not only help to
build vital bilateral relationships between legislatures, but also
build bipartisan relationships within our own Congress. Mutual
understanding and shared experiences among legislators are crucial to
solving pressing problems, whether at home or abroad. As former Members
of Congress, we are proud to bring the important services provided by
The Congressional Study Groups to our colleagues still in office and
are proud to play an active role in our continued international
outreach. Thank you.
Ms. MORELLA. Thank you, Russ. And I know you abbreviated some of your
comments, which will be in the Record. Our Association certainly has a
very active and impressive international portfolio, and we appreciate
your leadership in these endeavors.
And while our focus is on international relations, let me welcome our
special guests from other former legislators associations.
We have a wonderful and very productive partnership with our Canadian
colleagues, and we are thrilled to welcome from Ottawa former
parliamentarians Andy Mitchell and Gerry Weiner. And for having
traveled the furthest goes to former parliamentarian Hamish Hancock,
who represents the New Zealand Association.
Gentlemen, thank you for joining us today. We are honored by your
presence.
In addition to the programs that you have heard about so far, we are
also tasked with highlighting the achievements of former Members and
providing former Members with opportunities to stay connected with
their former colleagues after leaving Capitol Hill. One of our premier
events which achieves both these goals is our Annual Statesmanship
Award Dinner.
In April of this year, we hosted our 17th dinner, and like the
preceding 16, it was chaired by our good friend Lou Frey of Florida.
Imagine 17 dinners he has chaired. Lou was supported by a number of
cochairs, including me, former Members, Dennis Hertel, Martin Frost,
and our Association's CEO, Pete Weichlein.
I would now like to invite Lou Frey to report on the highly
successful 17th Statesmanship Awards Dinner.
Lou.
Mr. FREY. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you very much.
I don't know who got this idea and where those 17 years go, but I
guess we are going right ahead with the 18th. The dinner is our biggest
fundraising event, and it reaches out to a whole number of people at
all different levels, and it also shows what can be done when you can
work together and work and achieve a goal.
We have brought, I think, with the dinner, focus on what this group
is. There is frankly more intelligence in this group than anyplace you
want to put it together. It is an incredible bunch of people that we
have here who have given back to this country and continue to give
back. And as I look around and see the different friends who worked on
it and made a difference, all I can say is thank you. It was never a
one-person deal. It was always a deal, a partnership deal.
The partnership has grown a lot bigger for us, and this dinner itself
is becoming not easier, it is just bigger. As a matter of fact, Madam
President, this was the most productive dinner that we have had. I
think we raised, Pete, over--what?--$500,000, give or take a penny here
and there, but never lost its focus.
In a great country, we have a problem because nobody knows what we
have. We have a country where everybody knows basketball terms and so
forth and that and knows how to play the game, but we have a question
of people understanding. For instance, in my home State of Florida,
your home State of Florida, we know that 40 percent of the people can't
name the three branches of government and 42 percent can't explain
separation of powers, and 73 percent of our fourth graders--our fourth
graders--can't pick the Constitution out as our leading legal document.
This dinner and the people that work on this dinner have a desire to
make a change, and we can make a change. We are making a change. We are
making a big change. It is sort of fun to be along for the ride, for
watching what has happened in that. Look where we were; turn the clock
back. It was a total different deal.
It was a social organization when it started. It wasn't going
anywhere, bouncing along; and thanks to the leadership we have had
presently and in the past, it is a different organization. It is one
that I am certainly proud of, and it is nice to look out here and know
there are going to be a lot of cochairmen. When I call on the phone and
say: Hey, Larry, you know, here we go. There is a dinner on March 25,
put that on your calendar, because you are going to get a call. You are
going to get a call from me and from the other people, and, Madam
President to be, I am sure that you will be right there
[[Page 12111]]
continuing to help us with what we are doing.
So thanks for everything you have done. Five hundred tickets sold,
more than the 16 preceding dinners, tremendous honorees that we have
had.
Gentleman, former--well, a Member of Congress, but also the Corporate
Statesmanship Award of former Secretary Gutierrez. And we also have,
who came up the hard way literally, in terms of what he was doing as a
kid, became our third honoree with Operation Homefront, represented by
the CEO, Jim Knotts.
And we had a return this year by Gary Sinise, who came back. He had
been given the honor. He came back and spent an hour working with the
former Members. You know, you give people an hour, they don't come back
ever in this thing, but he came back and did it and that.
So we are really proud of what we have of the dinner. We are proud of
all the help that went into it. We look forward to a more successful
dinner this time and with the people here who will all get involved in
it. Thanks so much. It was a privilege to be involved with you all. I
appreciate it
Ms. MORELLA. Keep it going, Lou. You are doing a great job.
You know, all of the programs that we have described of course
require both leadership and staff to implement. Our association is
blessed to have top people in both categories.
I want to take this opportunity to thank our board of directors--
these are 30 former Members divided equally between parties--thank them
for their advice and counsel. It is really appreciated.
I also want to thank the many partners and supporters we have that
have made our programs possible. We are truly lucky to have assembled a
group of corporations and foundations that believe in our work and make
our success possible, and we very much value their partnership.
I would also be remiss if I didn't thank the other members of our
association's executive committee: our vice president, Barbara
Kennelly; our treasurer, Jim Walsh; secretary, Bill Delahunt; our past
president, Dennis Hertel. They have all made this association a
stronger and better organization than it had ever been before, and we
want to thank them for their time and their energy. Let's hear it for
all of them.
And to administer these programs takes a staff of dedicated and
enthusiastic professionals. Actually, I used to say to my staff: My rod
and my staff, they comfort me and prepare the papers for me in the
presence of my constituents. And so again, our staff has done the same
for us.
Sean Pavlik is our newest staff member. He joined us as a legislative
fellow focused on our Japan program, and he has done such a terrific
job. We had to hire him full-time. He even speaks Japanese.
Rachel Haas joined our association as office manager a little over a
year ago, and she has by now become indispensable for a great number of
reasons. Many of you met her this morning. We need to think of a better
job title for her because the current one does not describe at all the
many different levels that she contributes.
Andrew Shoenig, who is our international programs manager. He makes
all the international programs that you have heard about possible. He
truly does. He started as an intern and has now been with us full-time
for over 2 years. We are really very fortunate to have him.
Sharon Witiw, she is our member services manager. You probably have
gotten emails from her. She takes exceptionally good care of our 600
association members and all their various requests, needs, and
inquiries. Also, without her, our most important domestic program, the
Congress to Campus Program, would not be in as good a shape as it is.
Sabine Schleidt is our international programs director and oversees
all the current Member programs which are so impressive and important.
In the 3 years that she has been with us, she has transformed all the
Study Groups into substantive and incredibly productive exchanges that
now involve more current Members than ever, including a Diplomatic
Advisory Council, which now has about 30 ambassadors from the region
that belong.
Pete Weichlein, he is our CEO, and he has been with the organization
for 15 years. Pete, I call him the renaissance man because he does so
many things and does them all so well: managing, extending our services
to other programs, finding synergy in places we never even thought
existed. He is there every step of the way, and we very much value his
leadership.
And so I would like to have you give a round of applause. It is
amazing, so few people can do so much. You heard about the programs,
just think, these are the people who help it happen.
In addition to our wonderful staff, we benefit greatly from
volunteers who lend their talents and their expertise pro bono. None
deserve more appreciation than Dava Guerin. She has taken on the role
of our communications director. She tells our story and connects us
with the media.
Thank you, Dava. We really appreciate all that you do also. And I
hope you are watching this program, although we will see the minutes.
Every year at our annual meeting, we ask the membership to elect new
officers and board members. I therefore now will read to you the names
of the candidates for board members and officers. They are all running
unopposed. I have never run in an election unopposed. They are all
running unopposed, and I therefore ask for a simple ``yea'' or ``nay''
as I present to you the list of candidates as a slate.
For the association's board of directors the candidates are:
Mary Bono of California
Vic Fazio of California
Martin Frost of Texas
Bart Gordon of Tennessee
Jim Kolbe of Arizona
Steve LaTourette of Ohio
David Scaggs of Colorado
Cliff Stearns of Florida
Jim Walsh of New York
Albert Wynn of Maryland.
All in favor of electing these ten former Members to our board of
directors, please say, ``yea.'' I hear it unanimously. All opposed?
Hearing no objection, the slate has been elected by the membership.
Next, we will elect our executive committee. The candidates for our
executive committee are: Barbara Kennelly of Connecticut for president,
Jim Walsh of New York for vice president, Martin Frost of Texas for
treasurer, Mary Bono of California for secretary.
All in favor of electing these four former Members to our Executive
Committee, please say, ``yea.'' I hear it. All opposed? Hearing no
opposition, the slate has been elected by the membership. I shall join
the executive board in my capacity as immediate past president. And
let's have a round of applause for all those newly elected members of
our board and our officers.
Well, now it is my sad duty to inform the Congress of those former
and current Members who have passed away since our last report. I ask
all of you, including any visitors, to rise as I read the names, and at
the end of the list we will pay our respects to their memory with a
moment of silence.
We honor these men and women for their service to our country, and
they are:
Howard Baker, Jr. of Tennessee
Ben Garrido Blaz of Guam
Lindy Boggs of Louisiana
Harry F. Byrd, Jr. of Virginia
Howard Callaway of Georgia
William Coyne of Pennsylvania
Butler Carson Derrick, Jr. of South Carolina
Alan Dixon of Illinois
Thomas Foley of Washington
John Gilligan of Ohio
Rod Grams of Minnesota
Kenneth James Gray of Illinois
William Gray of Pennsylvania
William Hathhaway of Maine
Jack Hightower of Texas
Donald Irwin of Connecticut
Andy Jacobs, Jr. of Indiana
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
John McCollister of Nebraska
Jim Oberstar of Minnesota
Major Owens of New York
Otis Pike of New York
Robert Roe of New Jersey
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William Roy of Kansas
William Scranton of Pennsylvania
E. Clay Shaw of Florida
Ike Skelton of Missouri
David Michael Staton of West Virginia
Michael L. Strang of Colorado
Arlan Strangeland of Minnesota
Barbara Vucanovich of Nevada
George C. Wortley of New York
Charles Young of Florida.
Thank you.
That concludes the 44th report to Congress by the United States
Association of Former Members of Congress.
We thank the Congress, the Speaker, and the minority leader for
giving us the opportunity to return to this revered Chamber and to
report on our association's activities. We thank them also personally
for their comments to us and encouragement. We look forward to another
active and productive year.
Thank you.
Ms. KENNELLY. The meeting is adjourned.
The meeting adjourned at 9:19 a.m.
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