Welcome to SPEA’s Bi-annual Capitol Hill Colloquium. It is my distinct honor to welcome our distinguished speaker, a fellow Hoosier who is one of our nation’s most recognized experts on and respected leaders in foreign affairs, the Honorable Lee H. Hamilton.

Many of you have known Lee Hamilton for the years he represented the ninth district in the state of Indiana in the United States Congress, some 34 years in all. Many of you know him on the global stage as he has commanded posts of leadership in the House of Representatives serving on the Committee for Foreign Affairs – now International Relations – during his entire tenure in Congress. Our distinguished speaker today also served on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, and the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran.

Upon his retirement from Congress in January 1999, Congressman Hamilton accepted directorships both in Indiana and Washington, DC. He directs the Indiana University Center on Congress, located in the SPEA building, with the goal of improving understanding in our state about the role and functions of the U.S. Congress. He also directs the prestigious Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Many of you know Congressman Hamilton as the Vice Chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks – the voice, along with Governor Thomas Cain, of the “9-11 Report.” And many of you know him more recently as the co-chair, with former Secretary of State James Baker, of the Iraq Study Group. His service on that bipartisan group, coupled with his cogent and crisp colloquies on its findings and recommendations attest to his exceptional leadership. Since the release of their report this past fall, Congressman Hamilton, along with his colleagues, has helped to elevate the civic discourse in this country with the press, the White House, and the Congress, to even greater heights and standards of accountability to our citizens.

So today, we are enormously privileged to welcome an authentic citizen of democracy and champion of accountability and our governance. It is my pleasure to introduce to you, citizen extraordinaire, the Honorable Lee Hamilton. | next |