[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3831-3832]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO HARRIS WOFFORD

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, today I wish to extend my best wishes to 
former Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford as he celebrates his 90th 
birthday this April 9. Harris is a close friend and trusted adviser, 
and I would like to take this time to not only wish him the best on 
this milestone, but to reflect upon his remarkable life. His story is 
interwoven into the fabric of our Nation; from a young boy campaigning 
for Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression, to a pilot 
defending freedom in World War II; from a trusted adviser to the 
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and President John F. Kennedy 
during the civil rights movement; to a participant in the 1965 march 
from Selma to Montgomery; from a peace activist arrested in protest of 
police brutality during the 1968 Democratic National Convention; to a 
Senator championing universal healthcare in the 1990s. The story of 
Harris Wofford is the story of the steady march of equality and 
progress. He answered President Kennedy's call on a cold inaugural day 
in 1961 to ``Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can 
do for your country.''
  Harris's potential for leadership was evident early in high school 
amidst the chaos of World War II when he founded the Student 
Federalists, an organization which advocated for a united world 
government in order to bring about lasting peace. By the time he turned 
18, the organization had grown to over 1,000 members in 30 chapters and 
led Newsweek to predict that the intrepid young man would one day rise 
to be President. He went on to graduate from the University of Chicago 
in 1948 and then enrolled in Howard University Law School, finishing 
his education with a degree from Yale Law School in 1954, just as the 
civil rights movement was truly picking up momentum.
  In 1957, Harris joined the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights as a legal 
assistant to Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, the president of Notre Dame 
University. When Senator John Kennedy ran for President in 1960, he was 
asked to join the campaign as a civil rights coordinator. It was during 
that close election that Harris made one of his most lasting 
contributions to American history. In October 1960, Dr. King was 
arrested in Georgia while battling segregation, and in those tense 
hours after his arrest, Harris Wofford suggested to Sargent Shriver 
that Kennedy call Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott

[[Page 3832]]

King, and offer his support. Kennedy made the call despite the 
political risk. The news of the Democratic candidate for President--the 
nominee of a party that still held deep roots in the Jim Crow South--
calling the wife of Dr. King was powerful and helped sway many African-
American voters to Kennedy, which some feel decided the election.
  After the election, Harris Wofford joined the Kennedy Administration 
as special assistant to the President for civil rights and the chairman 
of the Subcabinet group on civil rights. He helped Shriver in the 
founding of the Peace Corps in 1961, and, as was common for him, he not 
only advocated for the idea, but also served as the director of 
operations in Ethiopia and the organization's special representative to 
Africa. In 1964, he was named associate director of the Peace Corps.
  He reentered the world of academia in 1966 as president of the State 
University of New York at Old Westbury. His career brought him to 
Pennsylvania as president of Bryn Mawr College in 1970. Later he 
practiced law in Philadelphia. After 16 years in Pennsylvania, he was 
asked to reenter the political world in June 1986 as chairman of the 
Pennsylvania Democratic Party. When my father was elected Governor of 
Pennsylvania that year, he asked Harris Wofford to serve as the 
Secretary of the Department of Labor and Industry for the Commonwealth. 
In May 1991, after the tragic death of Senator John Heinz in a plane 
crash, my father appointed Harris Wofford to fill the vacancy until a 
special election could be held. After winning a surprise victory in the 
special election under the banner of universal healthcare, Senator 
Wofford used his time in the Senate to foster the development of 
national service and to push for health insurance. He was a key sponsor 
in the establishment of the Corporation for National and Community 
Service and worked closely with Representative John Lewis to establish 
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day as a National Day of Service.
  Although Senator Wofford was defeated in his reelection attempt in 
1994, President Bill Clinton appointed him as the chief executive 
officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, CNCS. 
His lifelong advocacy for national and community service made him an 
ideal choice to lead the CNCS into an influential organization, and, 
under his leadership, the organization's volunteer branches grew to 
over 50,000 members. After leaving the CNCS in 2001, he continued his 
dedication to public service and civil rights through his work on the 
boards of the America's Promise Alliance, Malaria No More, Youth 
Service America, the Points of Light Foundation, and as a trustee of 
the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Non-Violent Social Change.
  Throughout his life, Harris Wofford has left an indelible mark on our 
Nation's history and the lives of those who have had the privilege to 
work with him. When I took the oath of office for the U.S. Senate in 
2007 to fill the seat he once held, I was honored and humbled to have 
him with me at the ceremony. For over 90 years, he has stood for 
courage, idealism, and a steadfast defense of equal rights for all 
Americans. As we look back on the growth of community service and the 
march of civil rights in our Nation's history, we see the steady, 
guiding hand of Harris Wofford. I am grateful for his experienced 
counsel and support on the many issues facing our Nation today, and I 
am pleased that he shows no signs of slowing down. On behalf of the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a grateful Nation, I am pleased to 
once again wish Harris Wofford a happy birthday and many more years of 
health and happiness.

                          ____________________