Senate Renames Russell Caucus Room in Honor of Kennedys
The Senate unanimously passed a resolution Monday naming the Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building after the Kennedy family.Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced the bill Thursday as Senators took to the floor to honor Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who died on Aug. 25 after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. The room has been the site of numerous historic meetings over the years such as the Watergate and Titanic hearings and is where Kennedy’s brothers, John and Robert, both announced they were running for president. Edward Kennedy held hearings there on the Affordable Health Choices Act.The Kennedy Caucus Room will now “stand as a monument to three brothers who devoted their considerable talent and energy to serving the country that they loved, and that loved them back,— Dodd said in a statement Monday. Kerry heralded the decision as “a reminder to every Senator who will ever serve here of the legacy of public service and duty to country that they inherit.— “Every time we walk into the Caucus Room, we will pause to remember our dear friend Ted, whose optimism could overwhelm any doubter, and whose joy for life was wonderfully contagious and completely irresistible, and find inspiration in the legend he left behind,— he said.