Joseph Patrick Kennedy II
Encyclopedia
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (born September 24, 1952) is an American
businessman and Democratic
politician.
He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from the 8th congressional district
of Massachusetts
from 1987 to 1999. In 1979 he founded and led until election to the U.S. House Citizens Energy Corporation
, a non-profit energy company; since 1999 he has continued to lead Citizens Energy.
Named after his uncle Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
, he is the eldest son of U.S. Senator
Robert F. Kennedy
and Ethel Skakel Kennedy
and a member of the Kennedy family
.
, Massachusetts, to Robert Francis Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, the second of their eleven children. He had a troubled youth, and was expelled from several private school
s as a result of his quick temper. He regularly got into fights with his younger brothers and male cousins. A restless, impulsive teenager, he left the Milton Academy
, a private, college preparatory school
, in Milton
, Massachusetts, before graduating from the Manter Hall School — also a private, college-preparatory school — in Cambridge
, Massachusetts, in 1971.
Kennedy attended the University of California, Berkeley
in Berkeley
, California
, during 1972, but dropped out. After this he worked for several months as part of a federally funded program to combat and treat tuberculosis
in the African American
community in San Francisco, California. San Francisco Mayor
Joseph Alioto
personally praised Kennedy's work in the community. Kennedy resigned from his position in the program, and returned to Massachusetts in the summer of 1973.
In August 1973, a Jeep
he was driving overturned, fracturing one of his brother David Kennedy
's vertebrae, and permanently paralyzing
David's girlfriend, Pam Kelley. The police cited Kennedy with reckless driving
and the judge temporarily suspended his driver's license. The Kennedy family paid for Kelley’s initial medical treatment and her continued care during the years following the accident.
Kennedy returned to school after the accident, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston
in Boston
, Massachusetts, in 1976.
In 1979, Kennedy founded Citizens Energy, a non-profit organization
, to provide discounted heating oil
to low-income families. (See Citizens Energy (since 1979) section below.)
Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill
, who had held 8th Congressional district seat since 1953. Joe Kennedy Jr. decided to run for the seat his uncle and former President John F. Kennedy
held from 1947 to 1953. The Democratic nomination was contested by a number of well-known Democrats with long records of public service: State Senator George Bachrach
and State RepresentativeMel King
. However, Kennedy garnered endorsements
from The Boston Globe
and the retiring Tip O'Neill. Kennedy won the primary with 53%. He won the general election with 72% of the vote. He won re-election in 1988 (80%), 1990 (72%), 1992 (83%), 1994 (99%), and 1996 (84%).
In 1991, Kennedy boycott
ed a speech to the U.S. Congress
by the United Kingdom
's Queen Elizabeth II
"in protest to the British occupation in northern Ireland".
In March 1998, following a year of family troubles that included the skiing
death of his brother Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, he announced that he planned to retire from the U.S. House, citing "a new recognition of our own vulnerabilities and the vagaries of life". An editorial in The Boston Globe observed, "... Kennedy has remained steadfast in his political life to issues and constituencies no poll would have led him to: the poor, the homeless, disadvantaged children, and others swamped in the current tide of prosperity." He served in the U.S. House for six terms, until January 1999. In his final speech on the U.S. House floor, Kennedy delivered "an impassioned plea for unity and forgiveness" in the midst of Congressional debate regarding the proposed articles of impeachment
of President Bill Clinton
.
, credit-reporting reform, the overhaul of The Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 and financial modernization. Kennedy also served on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee
, passing legislation to strengthen the veterans' health-care system
, to investigate the causes of Gulf War syndrome
, and to provide medical treatment for veterans of the first Persian Gulf War
.
s that, in turn, are used to generate funds that could assist those in need in the U.S. and abroad. It grew to encompass seven separate companies, including one of the largest energy-conservation
firms in the U.S. Citizens Energy became one of the U.S.'s first energy firms to move large volumes of natural gas
to more than thirty states. As a precursor to market changes under electricity
deregulation
in the late 1990s, Citizens Energy was a pioneer in moving and marketing electrical power over the power grid.
since 1979. These charitable efforts were funded largely from profitable commercial ventures and donations.
Since returning to Citizens Energy, Kennedy also has sought to influence energy-related public policy, challenging the Bush Administration to invest in energy conservation and efficiency and renewable energy, encouraging Congress to fully fund federal heating assistance programs, proposing that oil-consuming countries work together to balance oil prices against Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) manipulation, and calling for the federal government and major oil companies to use portions of royalties from oil and gas extracted from federal lands and waters to help low-income families with the high price of energy. As of 2010, Kennedy's CEO salary was $596,988 per year.
(Citgo), a wholly owned subsidiary
of Petróleos de Venezuela
(PDVSA) — the Venezuela
n state-owned
oil company — has been the primary donor
of heating oil to Citizens Energy. The Wall Street Journal
and others criticized Citizens Energy for continuing its relationship with the Venezuelan government
and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
, a harsh critic of U.S. President George W. Bush
. In response, Kennedy and others have argued that it is hypocritical to criticize a non-profit organization for accepting oil from Venezuela while numerous other American businesses are profiting from robust trade with Venezuela and at a time when the U.S. government has cut low-income fuel assistance.
During the last two years, Citgo donated eighty-three million gallons of oil, which was used to provide heating assistance to an estimated 200,000 families a year in twenty-three states.
but, citing family difficulties, he did not.
. In an Associated Press
article, Democratic strategist Dan Payne said, "He wouldn't be human and he wouldn't be a Kennedy if he didn't give serious consideration to running for what is known as the 'Kennedy seat' in Massachusetts." The six-year term of the seat ends in January 2013. However, Kennedy released a statement on September 7 explaining that he would not pursue the seat. The seat eventually went by appointment to Paul G. Kirk, and later by election to Republican Scott Brown
.
, Pennsylvania
. She is a daughter of Rudolph Stewart Rauch and Frances Stuart Brewster. (Both the Brewster and Rauch families were socially prominent with a tradition in coachbuilding
; the Brewsters had owned Brewster & Co.
, an American coachbuilder.) The couple had twin sons, Matthew Rauch Kennedy and Joseph Patrick Kennedy III (born 1980, in Boston); and were legally divorced in 1991.
Two years later, Kennedy asked the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
for an annulment
of the marriage on the grounds of "lack of due discretion of judgment", meaning that he was mentally incapable of entering into marriage at the time of his wedding. An annulment would give the marriage the status of never having existed, and allow Kennedy to marry Anne Elizabeth "Beth" Kelly—his former staff member—in a Roman Catholic ceremony, as well as allow him to participate in other sacrament
s of the church, such as Holy Communion, not available to a divorced person who remarries.
Rauch refused to agree to the annulment, and Kennedy married Kelly (born April 3, 1957) in a non-Catholic civil ceremony
on October 23, 1993.
The Boston Archdiocese initially granted Kennedy the annulment, which was only discovered by Rauch after the decision in 1996. Rauch, who is an Episcopalian
, wrote a book Shattered Faith: A Woman's Struggle to Stop the Catholic Church from Annulling Her Marriage explaining that she was opposed to the concept of annulment, because it meant in Roman Catholic theology that the marriage had never actually existed, and claiming that the Kennedy family influence made it possible to unilaterally "cancel" a twelve-year marriage. A tribunal decision in favour of annulment is automatically appealed, and the decision is not effective until a second, conforming, sentence is granted. Instead of allowing the appeal to take place in the United States, Rauch appealed directly to the Holy See
.
The original decision was overturned by the highest appellate tribunal
of the Roman Catholic Church, the Roman Rota, in 2005. Rauch was informed of the decision by the Boston Archdiocese in 2007.As the first decision was never confirmed, there was no time at which the Church declared the marriage to be null or gave Kennedy permission to remarry. Because the Rota was sitting as a second-instance appellate court
, Kennedy could appeal the decision to another Rotal panel.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician.
He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from the 8th congressional district
Massachusetts's 8th congressional district
Massachusetts's 8th congressional district is in eastern Massachusetts, including part of Boston and the immediately adjacent cities of Cambridge, Somerville, and Chelsea. With an area of just , it is the smallest by area of Massachusetts's ten congressional districts. It is currently represented...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
from 1987 to 1999. In 1979 he founded and led until election to the U.S. House Citizens Energy Corporation
Citizens Energy Corporation
Citizens Energy Corporation is a non-profit organization that primarily aids the poor in the United States and throughout the world by organizing projects to provide discounted and free home heating services and supplies....
, a non-profit energy company; since 1999 he has continued to lead Citizens Energy.
Named after his uncle Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Jr. was an American bomber pilot during World War II. He was the eldest of nine children born to Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr., and Rose Elizabeth Kennedy....
, he is the eldest son of U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
and Ethel Skakel Kennedy
Ethel Skakel Kennedy
Ethel Skakel Kennedy is the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, who served as Attorney General of the United States and a United States Senator for the state of New York.-Early life:...
and a member of the Kennedy family
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
.
Early life, educaton, and early business career
Kennedy was born in Brighton, a neighborhood of BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts, to Robert Francis Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, the second of their eleven children. He had a troubled youth, and was expelled from several private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s as a result of his quick temper. He regularly got into fights with his younger brothers and male cousins. A restless, impulsive teenager, he left the Milton Academy
Milton Academy
Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...
, a private, college preparatory school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
, in Milton
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
, Massachusetts, before graduating from the Manter Hall School — also a private, college-preparatory school — in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts, in 1971.
Kennedy attended the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, during 1972, but dropped out. After this he worked for several months as part of a federally funded program to combat and treat tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community in San Francisco, California. San Francisco Mayor
Mayor of San Francisco
The Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of San Francisco's city and county government. The mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch....
Joseph Alioto
Joseph Alioto
Joseph Lawrence Alioto was the 36th mayor of San Francisco, California, from 1968 to 1976.-Biography:...
personally praised Kennedy's work in the community. Kennedy resigned from his position in the program, and returned to Massachusetts in the summer of 1973.
In August 1973, a Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
he was driving overturned, fracturing one of his brother David Kennedy
David Kennedy
David Anthony Kennedy was the fourth of eleven children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy.-Life:...
's vertebrae, and permanently paralyzing
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
David's girlfriend, Pam Kelley. The police cited Kennedy with reckless driving
Reckless driving
Reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation. As a legal term, it is used within the United States. This offence has been abolished in the United Kingdom and replaced...
and the judge temporarily suspended his driver's license. The Kennedy family paid for Kelley’s initial medical treatment and her continued care during the years following the accident.
Kennedy returned to school after the accident, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston
University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts, in 1976.
In 1979, Kennedy founded Citizens Energy, a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, to provide discounted heating oil
Heating oil
Heating oil, or oil heat, is a low viscosity, flammable liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. Home heating oil is often abbreviated as HHO...
to low-income families. (See Citizens Energy (since 1979) section below.)
Elections
In 1986, incumbent Democrat and Speaker of the HouseSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill
Tip O'Neill
Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. was an American politician. O'Neill was an outspoken liberal Democrat and influential member of the U.S. Congress, serving in the House of Representatives for 34 years and representing two congressional districts in Massachusetts...
, who had held 8th Congressional district seat since 1953. Joe Kennedy Jr. decided to run for the seat his uncle and former President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
held from 1947 to 1953. The Democratic nomination was contested by a number of well-known Democrats with long records of public service: State Senator George Bachrach
George Bachrach
George A. Bachrach is an American politician, attorney, and educator who currently teaches journalism at Boston University.A 1973 graduate of Trinity College and a 1976 graduate of Boston University School of Law...
and State RepresentativeMel King
Mel King
Melvin H. King is an American educator, activist, and writer.King has been active across the landscape of neighborhoods and politics of Boston for over fifty-five years, while also being an educator, youth worker, social activist, community organizer and developer, elected politician, author, and...
. However, Kennedy garnered endorsements
Political endorsement
Political endorsement is the action of publicly declaring one's personal or group's support of a candidate for elected office.In the case of a 4 or 5 party system, where one of the parties has a 15 to 20% predicted electoral support, just prior to the election, the official representative of the...
from The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
and the retiring Tip O'Neill. Kennedy won the primary with 53%. He won the general election with 72% of the vote. He won re-election in 1988 (80%), 1990 (72%), 1992 (83%), 1994 (99%), and 1996 (84%).
Tenure
Kennedy's legislative efforts in U.S. House of Representatives included:- Expanding the availability of credit to working Americans to buy homes and to open businesses.
- Requiring public disclosure of bank-lending practices in poorer neighborhoods and disclosure of bank home-mortgageMortgage loanA mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
approvals and refusals by race, sex, and income. Subsequent Federal Reserve Board studies based on these newly required disclosures found widespread evidence of discriminatory-loan practicesMortgage discriminationMortgage discrimination or mortgage lending discrimination is the practice of banks, governments or other lending institutions denying loans to one or more groups of people primarily on the basis of race, ethnic origin, sex or religion...
. One study found that white borrowers in the lowest-income category were approved for mortgages more than African American borrowers in the highest-income category. Data from Boston; ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
; and Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, found that African Americans were turned down at three times the rate of whites. - Helping create hundreds of thousands of new affordable-housingAffordable housingAffordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
units nationwide by introducing tax creditTax creditA tax credit is a sum deducted from the total amount a taxpayer owes to the state. A tax credit may be granted for various types of taxes, such as an income tax, property tax, or VAT. It may be granted in recognition of taxes already paid, as a subsidy, or to encourage investment or other behaviors...
s to stimulate private investmentInvestmentInvestment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
in neighborhood housing developmentsHousing developmentsHousing developments are structured building development of residential properties. Popular throughout the US and UK, these are often areas of high density, low impact residences of single family homes....
after federal housing assistance had been cut by seventy-five percent during the 1980s. - Chairing the House Banking Subcommittee on Consumer Credit and Insurance and holding the first U.S. congressional hearings to expose the lack of access to insurance in low-income neighborhoods.
- Proposing a balanced-budgetBalanced budgetA balanced budget is when there is neither a budget deficit or a budget surplus – when revenues equal expenditure – particularly by a government. More generally, it refers to when there is no deficit, but possibly a surplus...
amendmentConstitutional amendmentA constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
to the U.S. Constitution as a vehicle to end skyrocketing deficits, reduce interest rateInterest rateAn interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. For example, a small company borrows capital from a bank to buy new assets for their business, and in return the lender receives interest at a predetermined interest rate for...
s, and free up investment capital for business growth rather than government bondGovernment bondA government bond is a bond issued by a national government denominated in the country's own currency. Bonds are debt investments whereby an investor loans a certain amount of money, for a certain amount of time, with a certain interest rate, to a company or country...
s while fighting to end corporate tax breaks and subsidies. - Overhauling federal public-housingPublic housingPublic housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
law for the first time in almost sixty years, giving local housing authoritiesPublic housingPublic housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
the ability to raise standards while protecting those who depend on public housing for shelter. - Co-chairing the U.S. Congressional Biotechnology Caucus and proposing to preserve and expand federal research and development accounts that stimulate the creation of new technologies and build the foundation for new jobs and business growth.
- Proposing the "Mom and Pop Protection Act" to help corner-storeGeneral storeA general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
owners to install safety equipment and a "National Stalker Reduction Act" to require all states to enact comprehensive anti-stalking legislation, track stalkerStalkingStalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
s, and establish a national domestic-violenceDomestic violenceDomestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
databaseDatabaseA database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
to track violations of civil-protection ordersInjunctionAn injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
. - Protecting kids from alcohol by proposing to limit television advertising of beer and wine between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and to keep outdoor alcohol advertisements away from schools.
- Launching a bipartisan initiative in Massachusetts to fight child hunger which helped lead to an expansion of school breakfast and lunch programs.
In 1991, Kennedy boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
ed a speech to the U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
"in protest to the British occupation in northern Ireland".
In March 1998, following a year of family troubles that included the skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
death of his brother Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, he announced that he planned to retire from the U.S. House, citing "a new recognition of our own vulnerabilities and the vagaries of life". An editorial in The Boston Globe observed, "... Kennedy has remained steadfast in his political life to issues and constituencies no poll would have led him to: the poor, the homeless, disadvantaged children, and others swamped in the current tide of prosperity." He served in the U.S. House for six terms, until January 1999. In his final speech on the U.S. House floor, Kennedy delivered "an impassioned plea for unity and forgiveness" in the midst of Congressional debate regarding the proposed articles of impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Committee assignments
Throughout his career in the U.S. House, Kennedy served on the House Banking Committee, where he played an active role in the federal saving-and-loan bailoutSavings and Loan crisis
The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
, credit-reporting reform, the overhaul of The Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 and financial modernization. Kennedy also served on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee
United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring and disability pensions, life insurance, education , vocational...
, passing legislation to strengthen the veterans' health-care system
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
, to investigate the causes of Gulf War syndrome
Gulf War syndrome
Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness describes a medical condition that affected veterans and civilians who were near conflicts during or downwind of chemical weapons depot demolition, after the 1991 Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have included fatigue, musculoskeletal...
, and to provide medical treatment for veterans of the first Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
.
Overview
After leaving the U.S. House, Kennedy returned to Citizens Energy. (During Kennedy's terms in the U.S. House, it had been run by his brother Michael.) Citizens Energy pursues commercial ventures aimed at generating revenueRevenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
s that, in turn, are used to generate funds that could assist those in need in the U.S. and abroad. It grew to encompass seven separate companies, including one of the largest energy-conservation
Energy conservation
Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
firms in the U.S. Citizens Energy became one of the U.S.'s first energy firms to move large volumes of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
to more than thirty states. As a precursor to market changes under electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
in the late 1990s, Citizens Energy was a pioneer in moving and marketing electrical power over the power grid.
Public policy
Citizens Energy has provided affordable heating oil to low-income families in the Northeastern U.S.Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
since 1979. These charitable efforts were funded largely from profitable commercial ventures and donations.
Since returning to Citizens Energy, Kennedy also has sought to influence energy-related public policy, challenging the Bush Administration to invest in energy conservation and efficiency and renewable energy, encouraging Congress to fully fund federal heating assistance programs, proposing that oil-consuming countries work together to balance oil prices against Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) manipulation, and calling for the federal government and major oil companies to use portions of royalties from oil and gas extracted from federal lands and waters to help low-income families with the high price of energy. As of 2010, Kennedy's CEO salary was $596,988 per year.
Venezuela
Beginning in 2005, Citgo Petroleum CompanyCitgo
CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a United States-incorporated, Venezuela-owned refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de...
(Citgo), a wholly owned subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Petróleos de Venezuela
Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. is the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil, as well as exploration and production of natural gas...
(PDVSA) — the Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n state-owned
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
oil company — has been the primary donor
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
of heating oil to Citizens Energy. The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
and others criticized Citizens Energy for continuing its relationship with the Venezuelan government
Politics of Venezuela
|The politics of Venezuela occurs in a framework explained in Government of Venezuela.There are currently two major blocs of political parties in Venezuela: the incumbent leftist bloc United Socialist Party of Venezuela , its major allies Fatherland for All and the Communist Party of Venezuela ,...
and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
, a harsh critic of U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. In response, Kennedy and others have argued that it is hypocritical to criticize a non-profit organization for accepting oil from Venezuela while numerous other American businesses are profiting from robust trade with Venezuela and at a time when the U.S. government has cut low-income fuel assistance.
During the last two years, Citgo donated eighty-three million gallons of oil, which was used to provide heating assistance to an estimated 200,000 families a year in twenty-three states.
1998 governor election
Kennedy considered running for the Massachusetts governorship in 1998Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1998
The 1998 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Acting Governor Paul Cellucci was elected to his first term as Governor of Massachusetts.-Governor:...
but, citing family difficulties, he did not.
2010 U.S. Senate election
With the death of his uncle U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy on August 25, 2009, Kennedy's name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for his uncle's seat representing Massachusetts in the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. In an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
article, Democratic strategist Dan Payne said, "He wouldn't be human and he wouldn't be a Kennedy if he didn't give serious consideration to running for what is known as the 'Kennedy seat' in Massachusetts." The six-year term of the seat ends in January 2013. However, Kennedy released a statement on September 7 explaining that he would not pursue the seat. The seat eventually went by appointment to Paul G. Kirk, and later by election to Republican Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...
.
Personal life
On February 3, 1979, Kennedy and Sheila Brewster Rauch (born March 22, 1949) were married in GladwyneGladwyne, Pennsylvania
Gladwyne is a suburban community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States along the Main Line. The population was 4,050 at the 2000 census...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She is a daughter of Rudolph Stewart Rauch and Frances Stuart Brewster. (Both the Brewster and Rauch families were socially prominent with a tradition in coachbuilding
Coachbuilder
A coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
; the Brewsters had owned Brewster & Co.
Brewster & Co.
Brewster & Company was an American coachbuilder, active from 1810-1937. Their first known bodywork on an automobile was in 1896, on an electric car, and a gasoline powered car in 1905, on a Delaunay-Belleville chassis. Eventually they would use chassis from a variety of makers...
, an American coachbuilder.) The couple had twin sons, Matthew Rauch Kennedy and Joseph Patrick Kennedy III (born 1980, in Boston); and were legally divorced in 1991.
Two years later, Kennedy asked the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the state of Massachusetts...
for an annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
of the marriage on the grounds of "lack of due discretion of judgment", meaning that he was mentally incapable of entering into marriage at the time of his wedding. An annulment would give the marriage the status of never having existed, and allow Kennedy to marry Anne Elizabeth "Beth" Kelly—his former staff member—in a Roman Catholic ceremony, as well as allow him to participate in other sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
s of the church, such as Holy Communion, not available to a divorced person who remarries.
Rauch refused to agree to the annulment, and Kennedy married Kelly (born April 3, 1957) in a non-Catholic civil ceremony
Civil ceremony
A civil registrar ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the UK, this person is normally called a registrar...
on October 23, 1993.
The Boston Archdiocese initially granted Kennedy the annulment, which was only discovered by Rauch after the decision in 1996. Rauch, who is an Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
, wrote a book Shattered Faith: A Woman's Struggle to Stop the Catholic Church from Annulling Her Marriage explaining that she was opposed to the concept of annulment, because it meant in Roman Catholic theology that the marriage had never actually existed, and claiming that the Kennedy family influence made it possible to unilaterally "cancel" a twelve-year marriage. A tribunal decision in favour of annulment is automatically appealed, and the decision is not effective until a second, conforming, sentence is granted. Instead of allowing the appeal to take place in the United States, Rauch appealed directly to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
.
The original decision was overturned by the highest appellate tribunal
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
of the Roman Catholic Church, the Roman Rota, in 2005. Rauch was informed of the decision by the Boston Archdiocese in 2007.As the first decision was never confirmed, there was no time at which the Church declared the marriage to be null or gave Kennedy permission to remarry. Because the Rota was sitting as a second-instance appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
, Kennedy could appeal the decision to another Rotal panel.