ACCESSING CLASSIFIED FILES
Decrypting documents...
Your connection is being monitored
Back to Individuals
medium risk
Joseph Kennedy II
U.S. Representative and Founder of Citizens Energy Corporation
U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts who led legislative efforts to close the School of the Americas and founded Citizens Energy Corporation to provide affordable heating oil
Overview
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (born 1952) is an American businessman, politician, and the eldest son of Robert F. Kennedy. He served as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts 8th Congressional District from 1987 to 1999. Kennedy is most notable in accountability terms for his sustained legislative campaign to close the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Benning, Georgia, an institution that trained Latin American military officers who went on to commit documented human rights atrocities including massacres, torture, and political assassinations across Central and South America. Kennedy introduced multiple amendments to defund or close the SOA throughout the 1990s. In a particularly close 1999 vote, the House came within 10 votes of closing the facility. While Kennedy was unsuccessful in shuttering the school, his efforts led to significant public awareness and the eventual rebranding of the SOA as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) in 2001. Kennedy also founded Citizens Energy Corporation in 1979, a nonprofit providing discounted heating oil to low-income families.
Key Affiliations
United States House of Representatives
Representative, Massachusetts 8th District (1987-1999); led legislative efforts to defund and close the School of the Americas
agency
Citizens Energy Corporation
Founder and President (1979-present); nonprofit providing affordable heating oil to low-income families
organization
Controversies & Concerns
Introduced multiple amendments to defund or close the School of the Americas, which trained Latin American military officers linked to massacres and human rights atrocities
Sought Catholic annulment of his first marriage to Sheila Rauch Kennedy, who publicly opposed it, creating controversy within the Kennedy family
Was involved in a 1973 car accident in Nantucket that left passenger Pam Kelley permanently paralyzed
Related Investigations (1)
Known Associates & Connections
Jimmy Carter
Fellow Democrat who shared Kennedy concerns about Latin American human rights abuses
Father Roy Bourgeois
Maryknoll priest and SOA Watch founder who worked with Kennedy on legislative efforts to close the School of the Americas
Sources & Documentation
2 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
Congressional Record: Kennedy Amendments on the School of the Americas(1993-1999)
SOA Watch: Legislative History of School of the Americas Closure Efforts(2024)
Personal Information
Education
- •University of Massachusetts Boston (B.A.)
Key Timeline
1952-09-24
Born in Brighton, Massachusetts; eldest son of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy
1979
Founds Citizens Energy Corporation to provide affordable heating oil to low-income families
1987-01
Takes office as U.S. Representative for Massachusetts 8th Congressional District
1993
Introduces his first amendment to defund the School of the Americas based on documented human rights abuses by SOA graduates
1999
House votes 214-204 against closing the SOA, the closest the effort came to success during his tenure; Kennedy declines to seek reelection
2001
SOA rebranded as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) partly due to pressure Kennedy helped generate