June 4, 1975
Page 17036
TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR KENNETH KEATING
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, America lost a dedicated public servant with the death of our former colleague, Kenneth Keating.
We both entered the Senate in the class of 1958, and in the 6 years we served together in this body, I grew to enjoy and appreciate his grace, his charm, and his humanity, as well as his style of speaking.
As a successful attorney in his native New York, Ken appropriately drew an assignment on the House Judiciary Committee, and in his last term was ranking Republican on the committee. In six terms in the House, he developed a reputation as a champion of civil rights and as an expert on immigration policy and a variety of other legislative areas, and this reputation grew in his 6 years in the Senate, both among his colleagues and the public at large.
Following his years in Congress, he continued to serve the people of New York as a member of that State's highest court. While nearing retirement from the bench, he was asked again to serve his country – first as Ambassador to India, and then as Ambassador to Israel.
As always, his personal style, his grace, and his friendly manner won countless friends for him and for his country.
He was a man of untiring enthusiasm, a man of vigor, and an active supporter of many causes and organizations. He served his country well, and wherever he served, he was well liked. He left many, many friends behind.