Rebuilding Our National Community

CLEVELAND: Patrick J. Kennedy, U.S. Congressman from Rhode Island, will speak about the political leaders’ need to use progressive ideals in order to unify our nation and create a renewed sense of community at noon on Friday, March 7, 2008, at The City Club of Cleveland.

His visit comes on the eve of the 40th anniversary of his tio’s Robert F. Kennedy’s famous City Club speech, one day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., when he asked the nation for unity in the face of tragedy.

Kennedy sits on the House Appropriations Committee, which has authority over all of the federal government’s discretionary spending. As part of his Appropriations duties, he sits on the Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary and on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. He is also a member of the Committee on Natural Resources.

Kennedy’s legislative priorities include improvement of the nation’s mental health, universal health coverage, advocacy for military veterans, public safety, education, the environment, and international human rights.

He has received numerous awards for his advocacy, including the Society for Neuroscience - Public Service Award, Eli Lilly & Co. 2003 Helping Move Lives Forward Reintegration Awards, American Psychoanalytic Association 2003 President’s Award, American Psychiatric Association Alliance award, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance - Paul Wellstone Mental Health Award, and Lymphoma Research Foundation’s Paul E. Tsongas Memorial Award.

The youngest of three children of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Joan Bennett Kennedy, Kennedy was elected to the R.I. House of Representatives in 1988 at the age of 21, and then re-elected in 1990 and 1992. He is serving his seventh term in the U.S. Congress.

This Forum is in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

Tickets are $18 for members and $30 for non-members. Lunch is included. They can be purchased by calling The City Club at 216.621.0082 or visiting the website at www.cityclub.org.