Former
Congressmen Visit UAlbany to Encourage Government Service
Public
Invited to Lecture Oct. 29, 1 p.m.
Contact:
Karl Luntta (518) 437-4980
ALBANY,
N.Y. (October 24, 2003) -- The University at Albany community
will get a firsthand look at life in the political arena when
two former congressmen visit the campus from Oct. 28 through
Oct. 30 as part of the Congress to Campus Program. The Honorable
Jack W. Buechner (R-Missouri) and the Honorable Andy Jacobs,
Jr., (D-Indiana) will be on hand for a series of events to
educate, encourage and inspire students to consider public
service and government careers.
The public is invited to an Open House and
lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. in the Campus Center
Assembly Hall on the UAlbany uptown campus.
The Congress to Campus Program sends bipartisan
pairs of former members of Congress to visit college campuses
all over the country for two days of classes, forums, informal
meetings with university and community leaders and interviews
with local media. Host schools are expected to cover part
of the costs. Both Buechner and Jacobs bring a wealth of expertise
and knowledge about the legislative process. The program is
sponsored by the U. S. Association of Former Members of Congress
in partnership with the Center for Democracy and Citizenship
and the Stennis Center for Public Service.
While in Congress for two terms in (1987-1991),
Buechner served in the Republican leadership as vice-chairman
of the Republican Study Committee and as a deputy whip to
former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He also served two terms
in the leadership of the Missouri State House of Representatives,
where he was a member of the advisory board of the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights. Since leaving Congress he has served as president
of the International Republican Institute, a non-governmental
organization that provides training in civic education and
electoral processes in emerging democracies.
Jacobs served 15 terms in Congress, beginning
in 1964. He was appointed to the Judiciary Committee where
he helped write the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act. During
his tenure he served as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee
as well as the Subcommittee on Social Security. Nationally
praised as being one of the most frugal members of Congress,
he gave the speech which stopped a 300 percent increase in
a sales tax, and in 1976 authored the "Payment Book Amendment"
to the Constitution which required a balanced national budget
with mandatory retirement of the national debt.
UAlbany was selected to be part of
this program through the work of Julian Zelizer, a professor
of Public Administration and Policy and Political Science
at UAlbany's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.
"This visit will give students the unique opportunity
to meet and talk with two individuals who served in one of
the most important offices in the land," he said.
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