UNA's 35th Convention begins; Rep. Kaptur to address delegates (05/26/02)

UNA's 35th Convention begins

Rep. Kaptur to address delegates

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The Ukrainian National Association's 35th Regular Convention gets under way in Chicago at the Marriott O'Hare Hotel on Friday, May 24, and will continue through Tuesday, May 28. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives, will address delegates during the gala convention banquet on Sunday evening, May 26.

Rep. Kaptur is a member of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus who has journeyed to Ukraine on a number of occasions, including visits to her family in western Ukraine. She is currently serving her 10th term in Congress.

The UNA's convention program includes reports by members of the General Assembly, that is, executive officers, auditors and advisors; elections of a new General Assembly; voting on amendments to the UNA By-Laws; a discussion on the fate of Soyuzivka; and a discussion on the future of the UNA's activity in Canada.

In addition, during their five days in Chicago, delegates will have an opportunity on Saturday evening, May 25, at 7 p.m. to attend a concert of Ukrainian ensembles and soloists, and on Sunday, May 26, to tour the Ukrainian Village section of Chicago, with its churches, financial institutions and Ukrainian centers.

Another highlight of the convention will be the banquet on Sunday evening, May 26, beginning at 7 p.m. Featured will be keynote addresses by two community leaders: Askold Lozynskyj, president of the Ukrainian World Congress and former president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America; and Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, immigration historian and former vice-president of the Ukrainian National Association.

Following are excerpts from the biography of Rep. Kaptur provided by her congressional office.

* * *

Congresswoman Kaptur, who represents the Toledo area's Ninth Congressional District in Northwest Ohio, is the most senior Democratic woman in Congress and ranks as the senior Democratic woman on the exclusive House Appropriations Committee. She is one of only 75 women out of 535 members of the 107th Congress.

Rep. Kaptur, who is of Polish American heritage with humble, working class roots, mirrors the boot-strap nature of her district. Her family operated a small grocery, where her mother worked after serving on the original organizing committee of an auto trade union at Champion Spark Plug. She became the first family member to attend college, receiving a scholarship for her undergraduate work. Trained as a city and regional planner, she practiced 15 years in Toledo and throughout the United States before seeking office. Appointed as an urban advisor to the Carter White House, she successfully maneuvered 17 housing and neighborhood revitalization bills through the Congress during those years.

Subsequently, while pursuing a doctorate in urban planning and development finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her local party recruited her to run, successfully, for the House seat in 1982.

Rep. Kaptur won a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. Since elected, she has secured subcommittees on Agriculture, the leading industry in her state, and Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection, Veterans, NASA and the National Science Foundation, which allow her to pursue her strong interests in economic growth and new technology, community rebuilding and veterans. In her legislative career, she has also served on the Budget; Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs; and Veterans Affairs Committees.

She was recently awarded the Veterans of Foreign Wars Americanism Award, in part for introducing the legislation authorizing the National World War II Memorial in Washington in 1987, as well as for her longstanding commitment to America's veterans and she is the only woman to have received the Prisoner of War "Barbed Wire" Award for her commitment to veterans affairs.

Demonstrating international leadership through diplomatic contributions to the Middle East Peace process, Rep. Kaptur is responsible for the first major shipments of U.S. agricultural commodities to Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority, with proceeds going to peace-building economic and social development projects. She also remains dedicated to democratic institution-building across the globe and has spearheaded private charitable efforts for peoples' of underdeveloped nations, including Ukraine and Vietnam.

Rep. Kaptur is the key sponsor of regulatory changes that force accountability on Russian food aid relief, helping to ensure that $1 billion dollars of U.S. resources go to people in need, not into the black market or pockets of government bureaucrats.

Rep. Kaptur earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from the University of Wisconsin. She received her master's degree in urban planning from the University of Michigan. In 1993 Rep. Kaptur was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by the University of Toledo in recognition of her "effective representation of the community" of the university and of Northwest Ohio. She is also the author of a book, "Women in Congress," that was recently published by Congressional Quarterly.

| Home Page |