Kennedy Institute Honors Former President with Lifetime Achievement Award, also Presents Leadership Awards to Former Labor Secretary Walsh and Retired Admiral Franchetti

Former President Joseph Biden, in a rousing speech at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute of the United States tonight, remembered the late Senator Kennedy’s relentless optimism and determination to help “all Americans.”

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Former President Biden speaks Sunday night, in front of an illustration of late Senator Edward Kennedy, at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston. In a dinner marking its 10th anniversary, the institute awarded President Biden its Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Teddy believed our issues were all about making life better or people, for all Americans,” Biden said during a 30-minute speech delivered after receiving the Kennedy Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “By assuring they had access to a good job, decent health care, which Teddy called the cause of his life. Teddy believed in the power of our democracy to pull our nation through the worst of moments.”

Biden, in remarks frequently punctuated by passionate exclamation, told the nearly 600 guests in attendance that he remains influenced by Kennedy’s optimism.

“America is not a fairy tale,” he said. “For 250 years, it’s been a constant push and pull. An existential struggle between peril and possibility. Perhaps it’s the unwavering optimism of my friend Teddy that causes me to say I believe that the America of our dreams is always closer than we think.

“That’s why the work of the Edward M Kennedy Institute is so important. Teaching young people how to fight for, strengthen, and cherish the institutions that make our democracy. Literally a beacon for the world. When I was president, I said the most urgent question facing the country is whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause. I think the answer is yes. I don’t believe it could ever be anything other than that. It can never be no."

Biden also recounted several deeply personal stories about how the late senator helped him through his darkest days after the death of his first wife and infant daughter in a car crash in December 1972. Kennedy went to great lengths to ensure Biden’s two sons, who were seriously injured in the crash, received the best medical care.

“Day after day he called,” Biden remembered of Kennedy. “Every time I turned around there was another specialist who Teddy sent down from one of the big hospitals in Boston ... He and his mother Rose invited me and the boys to Hyannis to help us heal.”

Biden, who had just won election to the Senate at the time of the crash, said he considered ending his political career. But Kennedy and Senator Mike Mansfield “wouldn’t let me give up,” he said.

“He showed up at my house unannounced to keep me focused on the future,” Biden recalled. “The Bidens have a family motto, ‘if you have to ask, it’s too late.’ But Teddy lived that motto. You never had to ask. He was always there. He made such a profound difference in the life of my children and the life of my family.”

The Kennedy Institute bestowed the award at its annual fall dinner, which this year marked its 10^th anniversary. President Biden, then the vice president, was one of the speakers, along with former President Barack Obama, at the institute’s dedication ceremony on March 30, 2015.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes President Biden’s more than four decades in public life, beginning with his election to the United States Senate from Delaware in 1972, to his ascent to leadership positions in the Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees, to the vice presidency, and ultimately to the White House.

The institute also honored former Secretary of Labor and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and retired United States Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the former Chief of Naval Operations and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with its Award for Inspired Leadership.

The Kennedy Institute is “the leading voice for bipartisanship in the United States,” its board chairman, Bruce A. Percelay, said. He cited the institute’s signature programs, including its Senate Project debate series, in which two Senators from opposing parties discuss timely policy issues on national television from the building’s replica of the US Senate Chamber.

“The Edward M. Kennedy Institute is more relevant today than it has ever been, and at a time when it is needed most,” Percelay told guests. “You cannot find common ground in a vacuum, you cannot find common ground in an echo chamber, and our strategy of bringing the right and left together is achieving tangible results. Ted Kennedy said what unites us is far more powerful than what divides us, and your support of his vision is an investment not only in this incredible institute but in democracy itself.”

Since its founding in 2015, the Kennedy Institute has hosted more than 150,000 students for programs that teach how America’s government works.

The Kennedy Institute’s fall dinner is its major annual fundraiser, helping to support the organization’s mission to foster bipartisan political leadership, provide a forum for civil discourse about critical issues, and educate the public about the Senate’s role in the United States’ system of democratic government.

The dinner was the second of two events the Kennedy Institute hosted as part of its 10^th anniversary recognition. On Oct. 1, former Vice President Mike Pence discussed the need for civil discourse in a strong democracy during a conversation with podcaster Meghan McCain.

About the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate

The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate actively inspires all Americans to keep our democracy and civic life vibrant, educate the public about the unique role of the Senate in our government, and promote civil discourse to drive bipartisan solutions for our nation’s challenges. Through educational programs, public forums, and digital exhibits, the Kennedy Institute welcomes individuals of all ages to debate the issues of the day, learn from each other, and leave empowered to make their own contributions to improving their communities.

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