Mr. Speaker, friends of freedom today are mourning the death of Penn Kemble, who was one of its most ardent, eloquent, and effective defenders. Although he died at the relatively young age of 64, after a year-long struggle with brain cancer, Penn was an activist on behalf of social causes for more than 40 years. Whether arguing on behalf of civil rights, supporting organized labor, which he considered the ``balance wheel of democracy,'' or advocating on behalf of democratic movements around the world, Penn brought an unparalleled passion combined with a hardheaded realism to every cause he adopted.

Penn, through his close affiliation with Senators Henry Jackson and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, worked to move the Democratic Party in the direction of strong and ``muscular'' internationalism in its foreign policy. As Deputy Director--and later Acting Director--of the United States Information Agency under President Clinton, he played a strong role in the creation of an international network on civic education and in the establishment of the Community of Democracies. Even as the end of his life drew near, he was busy working to develop a transatlantic democracy network, collaborating with colleagues at the National Endowment for Democracy and Freedom House, where he served as a senior scholar after leaving government service.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to place in the Record a Washington Post obituary that chronicles the life of this remarkable American. Let me take this opportunity to express my condolences to Penn's wife Mal and the other members of his family.