Obey to address economic injustice in Kastenmeier Lecture

U.S. Rep. David Obey, chair of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, will discuss economic injustice and the gap between rich and poor Americans in the annual Kastenmeier Lecture on Monday, Oct. 13, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Law School.

Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat, will speak at 4 p.m. in Room 2260 at the Law School. The talk is free and open to the public, but organizers ask that those attending pre-register at this site by Friday, Oct. 3.

Obey has served in Congress since 1969 and is the only Democratic member of the House to have served on the three major economic committees in Congress: the Budget Committee, the Joint Economic Committee and the Committee on Appropriations.

A Wausau native and a UW–Madison graduate, Obey has served Wisconsin longer in Congress than any other person. He also authored the book “Raising Hell for Justice: The Washington Battles of a Heartland Progressive,” published by the UW Press, and plays harmonica in a bluegrass band called “The Capitol Offenses.”

The lecture is supported by a fund established to recognize Robert W. Kastenmeier, a Law School graduate who served in Congress from 1958-90. The Kastenmeier Fund was created to foster scholarship in the fields of intellectual property, corrections, administration of justice and civil liberties.