Joseph Patrick Kennedy II Totally Explained

Everything about Joseph Patrick Kennedy Ii totally explained

Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (born September 24 1952, in Brighton, Massachusetts), named after his late uncle Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., is the eldest son of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy.

Career

In 1979, Kennedy established Citizens Energy Corporation

, a non-profit organization, to provide discounted heating oil to low-income families. Citizens Energy also began pursuing commercial ventures aimed at generating revenues that in turn would be used to generate funds that could assist those in need in the United States and abroad.
   Citizens Energy grew to encompass seven separate companies, including one of the largest energy conservation firms in the U.S. Citizens became one of the nation's first energy firms to move large volumes of natural gas to more than 30 states. As a precursor to market changes under electricity deregulation in the late 1990s, Citizens was a pioneer in moving and marketing electrical power over the grid.
   In November 1986, Kennedy was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Massachusetts 8th Congressional District. The Democratic nomination was contested by a number of well-known Democrats with long records of public service, among them veterans of the Massachusetts legislature such as Thomas Gallagher, George Bachrach, and Mel King. However, Kennedy garnered endorsements from the Boston Globe and the retiring incumbent, Speaker of the House Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, who held the seat from 1953 to 1987. (From 1947 to 1953, this seat had been held by Kennedy's uncle, President John F. Kennedy.)
   Kennedy's legislative efforts in Congress included :
• Expanding the availability of credit to working Americans to buy homes and open businesses.
   • Helping create hundreds of thousands of new affordable housing units nationwide by introducing tax credits to stimulate private investment in neighborhood housing developments.
   • Proposing a balanced budget amendment as a vehicle to end skyrocketing deficits, bring down interest rates, and free up investment capital for business growth rather than government bonds. • Overhauling federal public housing law for the first time in 60 years, giving local housing authorities the ability to raise standards while protecting those who depend on public housing for shelter.
   • Preserving and expanding federal research and development accounts that stimulate the creation of new technologies and build the foundation for new jobs and business growth.
   Throughout his career in Congress, Kennedy served on the House Banking Committee, where he played an active role in the federal savings and loan bailout, credit reporting reform, Glass-Steagall overhaul, and financial modernization. Kennedy also served on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, passing legislation to strengthen the veterans health care system, investigate the causes of Gulf War Syndrome, and provide medical treatment for veterans of the first Persian Gulf War.
   He served in Congress for six terms, until January 1999, when he returned to Citizens Energy.
   Kennedy considered running for the Massachusetts governorship in 2002, but opted out citing family difficulties.

Controversy Involving Citizens Energy and Venezuela

Citizens Energy Corporation has provided affordable heating oil to low income families in the Northeast since 1979. These charitable efforts were funded largely from profitable commercial ventures and donations. Beginning in 2005, CITGO, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company, PDVSA, has been the primary donor of heating oil to Citizens Energy. The Wall Street Journal and others have criticized Citizens Energy for continuing its relationship with the Venezuelan government and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who has been a harsh critic of U.S. President George W. Bush. In response, Kennedy has argued that it's hypocritical to criticize a non-profit from accepting oil from Venezuela while numerous other American businesses are profiting from robust trade with Venezuela and at a time when the U.S. government has cut low-income fuel assistance.
During the winter of 2006-2007, CITGO donated 40 million gallons of home heating oil, which served an estimated 170,000 families in 16 states.

Personal life

Kennedy reportedly had a troubled childhood, regularly getting into fights with his younger brothers and male cousins. He gained early notoriety for a 1973 incident in which a jeep he was driving overturned (according to the police report, due to reckless driving), injuring his brother David Kennedy and paralyzing David's then-girlfriend, Pam Kelley. on 3 February 1979 in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, daughter of Rudolph Stewart Rauch and Frances Stuart Brewster. The couple divorced in 1991, and Kennedy married Anne Elizabeth "Beth" Kelly (b. April 3, 1957) On 19 June 2007, Time Magazine reported that the Roman Rota reversed the declaration of annulment made by the tribunal of the Boston Archdiocese. As the Rota was sitting for that case as a second-instance appellate court, Kennedy could appeal the decision to another Rotal panel.

Possible Rise to Senate

With the diagnosis of his uncle Ted Kennedy with a brain tumor, Joe's name has been thrown out as a possible replacement for his uncle's senate seat in Massachusetts if Senator Kennedy were to have to step down. State law dictates that a special election would have to take place no fewer than 145 days after a senator steps down and no more than 160 days after.

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