U.S. SENATOR VISITS NEPAL

August 12, 2006                                                                                      

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, arrived in Kathmandu today for a two-day visit to Nepal.  His visit here is part of a fact-finding trip to various countries.  Besides Nepal, those include China, Bhutan, Israel, and Libya.  The powerful Judiciary Committee addresses a variety of key issues, among them terrorism, intellectual property rights, trafficking in persons, religious persecution,and drug interdiction.

During the visit, Senator Specter will meet with government officials, political party leaders, and civil society representatives to review ongoing developments in Nepal.

The Senate is the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress.  It has 100 members - two from each state.  Senators are elected for six-year terms.

The U.S. Embassy is coordinating the Senator's visit.

Biographical Summary:

Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's senior U.S. Senator, was elected to the Senate in 1980 and is currently serving his fifth term. In 2005, Senator Specter became Pennsylvania's longest serving U.S. Senator. Senator Specter, a Republican, is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a senior member of the Appropriations and Veterans Affairs committees.

In addition to tackling the major legislative business before the Senate this year, Senator Specter also engaged in a personal battle with Stage IVB Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. He underwent nearly five months of chemotherapy, but still maintained all of his Senatorial duties, including chairing hearings, voting, and brokering important legislative initiatives. On July 22, 2005, Senator Specter received his last chemotherapy treatment and has since received a clean bill of health.

Senator Specter was born to immigrant parents in Wichita, Kansas, and grew up in the small town of Russell, Kansas. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. He began his career in public service as an Assistant Philadelphia District Attorney. While serving in that position, he was named Assistant Counsel on the Warren Commission investigation into President Kennedy's assassination. Two years later, Senator Specter was elected District Attorney of Philadelphia at the age of 35.

Senator Specter lives in Philadelphia with his wife Joan. They have two sons, Shanin and Steve, and four grandchildren, Silvi, Perri, Lilli, and Hatti.