[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

[[Page 12103]]

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

[[Page 12104]]

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

[[Page 12105]]

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

[[Page 12106]]

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

[[Page 12112]]

  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.

                          ____________________