A National Memorial for Edmund S. Muskie

A NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOR EDMUND S. MUSKIE -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 09, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. MICHAEL H. MICHAUD
OF MAINE
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2004

Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing two bills to designate the Edmund S. Muskie Memorial, located in Rumford, Maine, as a national monument. Surely, the incredible accomplishments of this distinguished American deserve national recognition.

Edmund S. Muskie was born March 28, 1914, in Rumford, Maine, the second of six children and the son and grandson of Polish immigrants. Ed Muskie attended public schools in Rumford, graduated as valedictorian of his high school and with cum laude honors from Bates College. After Cornell University Law School, he began practicing law in Waterville. In 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a Lieutenant in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.

Ed Muskie began his political career in the Maine House of Representatives, where he served from 1946-1951. Later he went on to be twice elected as Governor of Maine and then to the United States Senate, where he served for twenty-one years. During his tenure in the Senate, Ed Muskie served on the Foreign Relations, Governmental Affairs, and Environmental and Public Works committees, and was the founder and first chair of the Senate Committee on the Budget.

Joining Democratic Presidential nominee Hubert H. Humphrey, Ed Muskie ran for Vice President on the Democratic ticket in 1968, and then made his own bid for the Presidential nomination in 1972. After retiring from the Senate in 1980, he was made Secretary of State by President Carter, practiced law in Washington, D.C., and was named to President Reagan's Special Review Board to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.

Few people served this nation as long, or as honorably, as Edmund Muskie. His dedication to public service was
obvious and his commitment to environmental issues ahead of his time.

I have introduced a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resources study to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the memorial to Edmund S. Muskie located in Rumford, Maine, as a unit of the National Park System. I have also introduced a bill to then officially designate the memorial as a national memorial. I am hopeful that these bills can be considered and passed soon so that we can have a fitting, national tribute to Edmund Muskie.