Photo credit: Paul Morigi
“To say that I love the Senate doesn’t begin to convey what that institution means to me,” said Victoria Reggie Kennedy reading from a passage written by her late husband Senator Edward “Teddy” Kennedy from his 2009 memoir True Compass at a Newseum event.
“Let me put it this way: After nearly a century, I still cannot be in a car headed for the Capitol, especially in the evening, and glimpse it in the distance without my hair standing up on my arms. I’ve told Vicki if ever that sight does not move me, I will know it is time to step aside.”
Victoria Reggie Kennedy
Nearly 300 friends and family of the late Senator Ted Kennedy – including more than 100 former staff and colleagues — joined Victoria Reggie Kennedy at the Newseum to celebrate the announcement of the March 2015 opening of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
“Well, Teddy never stopped being moved by that sight for the rest of his life. And that is the same spirit we hope to instill in future generations when they visit the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. We hope they’ll be inspired to believe, as Teddy did, that politics is the noblest of professions,” Mrs. Kennedy added.
Victoria Reggie Kennedy with John Barrasso
The Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, will provide an interactive, dynamic experience through which visitors will learn about the Senate and even participate as Senators-in-training in a simulation. Through the experience, the Institute aims to advance Senator Kennedy’s passion for public service and the United States Senate, in which he served for more than five decades.
“Ted taught us to lift our gaze to the constellation of possibilities, not just for ourselves but for our nation. That’s the kind of man he was,” Senator Ed Markey said. “We need a new institution to study how to make the U.S. Senate work in the 21st century.”
Senator Ed Markey
Attendees included current members of Congress—Sen. John Barrasso, Sen. Tim Johnson, Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rep. Steny Hoyer, Rep. Elijah Cummings, and Rep. Joe Kennedy; Justice Stephen Breyer; media personalities including Rita Braver, Lloyd Grove, Al Hunt, Karen Tumulty, Rick Klein, Carl Hulse, Paul Kane and Kelly O’Donnell; as well as Summit Global Venture’s Terry Lierman and Carlyle Group’s David Rubenstein.
Elijah Cummings and Patrick Kennedy
The Institute formally opens to the public in March 2015.
