Statement by Anne J. Udall, Vice-Chair of the Morris K. Udall Foundation

Today is particularly poignant for me as his colleagues and my family will honor Dad at a memorial service he loved, the United States Congress.

There has been much that has been said about Dad over the years, but President Clinton summed up his contributions to our country when awarding Dad the Medal of Freedom:

"His landmark achievement; such as reforming campaign finance, preserving our forests, safeguarding the Alaskan Wilderness and defending the rights of Native Americans were important indeed. But he distinguished himself above all as a man to whom others would turn for judgment, skill and wisdom. Mo Udall is truly a man for all seasons and a role model for what is best in American democracy."

Senators will recall that the Udall Foundation is both similar to and different from its predecessors in the Federal family: the Truman, Madison, and Goldwater Foundations. We are similar in that we are educational entities that award college scholarships, fellowships and internships, to further public goals. The Udall Foundation's focuses are the environment and Native American affairs.

The Foundation, in carrying on Dad's legacy, is dedicated to civility integrity, and consensus Since our establishment, we have accomplished the following:

* The Foundation has awarded 220 scholarships to college juniors and seniors- planning careers in the environment Native American health care. Interest in Udall scholarships has grown rapidly and today more than 1,200 colleges and universities participate. The demand is such that the Board would like to raise the annual number of awards from 75 to 100 and the stipend from $5,000 to $7,500.

* We have initiated the first Native American Congressional internship pro gram. This year we graduated and sent back to their tribes the third class of Udall interns with an enriched knowledge of Congress and the Executive Branch. Congressional interns, all of whom are college graduates, are split evenly between Republican and Democratic ounces; three slots have been made available at the White House. Interns are lodged at George Washington University and are provided a per died and, upon successful completion of the program, a stipend of $1,200.

* The program also provides regular counseling, travel to historical sites, and special meetings with national leaders. The evidence, thus far suggests that our graduates are having: a dramatic impact on their tribes. The Foundation has begun a program to support top doctoral candidates in their dissertation years. Last year, we began bar authorizing the gift of $24,000 each to two of the nation's leading graduate students after a national competition. The first year was judged a success, yielding two potentially publishable theses covering new ground in environmental research.

* The Board has decided to continue the program this year and expand it over time as our financial resources grow. We have sponsored two widely reported national conferences on environmental issues, and a third conference last October on Native American health care.

* The Foundation has conducted extensive preliminary planning for a program that will begin this year called "Parks in Focus". The cooperation with the Boys and Girls Clubs, the National Park Service and two private concerns, Cannon and Kodak, we will take inner-city children into our national parks for long weekends. They will be given cameras and will engage in photography contests. Their photos then will be displayed in their schools. This effort with grade school children will supplement our educational programs which focus on college and graduate students.

* Finally we have undertaken a searching analysis of the methods of environmental conflict resolution and its possible use by Federal agencies. The Foundation's efforts included convening a large national conference on the subject and conducting simulations to test negotiating methods.

* This research led to a request by Senator John McCain that the Foundation undertake a formal role as the Federal mediator in environmental disputes. In consultation with the White House, Senator McCain introduced S. 399, which was subsequently approved by the final Senate and House and signed by President Clinton in January of this year. The law creates within the Udall Foundation a new Federal entity known as the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. The institute will be located locally with the Foundation in Tucson, providing a neutral site within the Federal establishment but outside the "Beltway" where public and private interests can seek common ground and settle environmental disputes.

* The Institute is intended to give yet another boost to the growing environmental conflict resolution movements to move away from a period of confrontation and litigation to a new area where we follow Mo Udall's lead and strive for consensus.

I am hopeful that the Committee can see the great work the Foundation has undertaken and is continuing to pursue. For me personally, as Mo's daughter and as an American who is committed to public service in my own life, serving on the Board of Trustees has been a very special honor. Over the past several years, as Dad struggled daily with the trials of Parkinson's disease, I had a great deal of pride and satisfaction knowing that in some small way I was able to carry on his great work I would very much appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall Foundation.