Bill Text: MS SC508 | 2019 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Extend deepest sympathy of the Legislature to the family of George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States of America.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 23-11)
Status: (Passed) 2019-02-01 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC508 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2019-SC508-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Burton, Blackwell, Blount, Branning, Browning, Carmichael, Caughman, Chassaniol, Clarke, Dawkins, DeBar, Fillingane, Frazier, Gollott, Harkins, Hopson, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Jolly, Jordan, Kirby, Massey, McMahan, Parker, Polk, Seymour, Turner-Ford, Watson, Whaley, Wiggins, Wilemon, Witherspoon, Younger, Barnett
Senate Concurrent Resolution 508
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE PROFOUND REGRET AND SORROW OF THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE ON LEARNING OF THE DEATH OF GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH, THE 41ST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND EXTENDING THE DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT IN THEIR BEREAVEMENT.
WHEREAS, the Mississippi Legislature and the citizens of the State of Mississippi have learned with profound regret and sorrow of the death of George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President of the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, the members of the Mississippi Legislature wish to tender their deep sympathy to the family of the former President in their bereavement; and
WHEREAS, George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States and the father of the 43rd President George W. Bush, was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his position as an Envoy to Beijing to his eight years as Vice President and his one term as Commander in Chief from 1989 to 1993; and
WHEREAS, the last Veteran of World War II to serve as President, he was a consummate public servant and a statesman who helped guide the nation and the world out of a four-decade Cold War that had carried the threat of nuclear annihilation; and
WHEREAS, his death, at 94 on November 30, 2018, marked the passing of an era; and
WHEREAS, President Bush's greatest accomplishment was sorting out the Cold War after President Reagan won it. Mr. Bush reached the Oval Office under the sharply defined shadow of Ronald Reagan, a one-time rival whom he had served as Vice President. No president before had arrived with his breadth of experience: decorated Navy Pilot, successful Oil Executive, Congressman, United Nations Delegate, Republican Party Chairman, Envoy to Beijing, and Director of Central Intelligence. Over the course of a single term that began January 20, 1989, Mr. Bush found himself at the helm of the world's only remaining superpower. The Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, the Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe broke up, and the Cold War ended; and
WHEREAS, George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924. He grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, the second of five children of Prescott Bush and the former Dorothy Walker. His father had insisted that privilege carried a responsibility to "put something back in, do something, and help others." His time to serve came on his 18th birthday when he enlisted in the Navy, and within a year, he received his wings and became one of the youngest pilots in the service. Sent to the Pacific, he flew torpedo bombers off the aircraft carrier San Jacinto. On September 2, 1944, his plane was hit by Japanese groundfire during a bombing run on Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands in the Western Pacific. He pressed the attack even though his plane was aflame. Mr. Bush bailed out over the ocean and was rescued by a submarine. His two crewmen were killed. The future President was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he went to Yale, where he was captain of the baseball team and his wife Barbara took their baby son, George W., to the games. In 1948, following his graduation, he moved to Texas to go into the oil business; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Bush began his political career as Chairman of the Harris County Republican Party at a time when being a Republican in Texas was as much an electoral liability as having Northeastern roots. In 1966, after selling his interest in his oil company, Mr. Bush was elected to the first of two terms in Congress from a House district in Houston. After Mr. Bush's 1970 Senate defeat, there came a rapid progression of high-profile jobs that began when Nixon named him Ambassador to the United Nations. In 1973 and 1974, Mr. Bush served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee during the waning days of the Watergate scandal that would result in Nixon's resignation. After former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter defeated President Ford in the 1976 presidential election, Mr. Bush returned to private life and began preparing for a run for President. Mr. Bush served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989. Mr. Bush won the 1988 Presidential election with 53% of the vote. He carried 40 states and received 426 electoral votes. He was the first sitting Vice President elected to the nation's highest office since Martin Van Buren succeeded Andrew Jackson in 1837; and
WHEREAS, as President, Mr. Bush worked long hours and had a penchant for detail. Mr. Bush espoused generally conservative economic and social programs: lower taxes, regulatory reform, more support for commercial development and access to foreign markets. Mr. Bush supported voluntary prayer in public schools and adoption rather than abortion. He also supported gun owners' rights; and
WHEREAS, it is not possible to appreciate the signature foreign policy achievements that occurred on Mr. Bush's watch without viewing them in the context of the four decades that preceded them. In the era after World War II, the United States sought to contain Soviet influence around the world. The nation fought divisive and demoralizing wars in Korea and Vietnam and headed the NATO Alliance. Within a year of Mr. Bush's inauguration, the international situation changed almost beyond recognition. Mr. Bush approached the changing world with a view that was pragmatic rather than ideological; and
WHEREAS, as the 1992 presidential election approached, the attention of the American public was turning homeward. He made two appearances in Mississippi in 1992 to reestablish his base in our state. Mr. Bush had promised a "kinder, gentler" America. He signed into law the Americans With Disabilities Act, a broad Civil Rights measure that prohibited discrimination in employment, public services and public accommodations on the basis of physical or mental disability. Among his other accomplishments were far-reaching amendments to the Clean Air Act that had been stalled in Congress for years; and
WHEREAS, in 1988, Mr. Bush gave a list of the qualities he most cherished: "family, kids, grandkids, love, decency, honor, pride, tolerance, hope, kindness, loyalty, freedom, caring, heart, faith, service to country, fair play, strength, healing, and excellence." Mr. Bush viewed his family as part of his legacy. He was intensely proud of the sons who followed him into public service. George and Barbara had six children: George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Neil Bush, Marvin Bush and Dorothy Bush Koch. A daughter, Pauline Robinson "Robin" Bush, died of leukemia in 1953, two months before her fourth birthday. Her parents considered her death the greatest sorrow they ever experienced. In the years after the White House, Mr. Bush wrote his memoirs and divided his time between Houston and the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he was a Vestryman of St. Ann's Episcopal Church. He chose College Station, the home of Texas A&M University, as the site of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum; and
WHEREAS, George Herbert Walker Bush and Mississippi Congressman Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery were both elected to Congress on November 8, 1966, and both took office on January 3, 1967. Unknown to either of them at the time, it was the beginning of a long and meaningful friendship. As freshmen in Congress, central Mississippi's Montgomery, the Democrat, and southeast Texan Bush, the Republican, became fast friends. Bush gave a speech in Meridian at Peavey Electronics on December 3, 1991, on his economic policies, globalization and trade. Peavey's thriving sound equipment business was trading with 103 countries and was a perfect backdrop for his policies in Montgomery's hometown. Bush was a Commencement Speaker at Mississippi State University in May 1989, and later returned to Mississippi State University to honor Congressman Sonny Montgomery at halftime of the Mississippi State University-Arkansas game in November 2000. From their paddle-ball competition in the House gym in 1967, who could have known that both men would ultimately receive Presidential Medals of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor; and
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush was the only sitting President to visit and speak at Alcorn State University: he gave the commencement address on May 13, 1989. He made an appearance at the New Capitol in Jackson in 1992, and he and his Vice President, Dan Quayle, hit the campaign trail quickly after securing the Republican nomination in 1992 and made Gulfport their first stop. In Gulfport, it was quite an honor to have the President start his campaign in Mississippi. It was very hot in Jones Park that late August day, but President Bush pulled off his coat and waved to the crowd in what has become an iconic photo of an enthusiastic campaigner; and
WHEREAS, thousands of mourners filed through the U.S. Capitol through December 5, 2018, to pay respects to former President George H.W. Bush, someone who exemplified public service and personal integrity. President Trump and Governor Bryant ordered all flags on government buildings to be flown at half-staff and declared a 30-day period of official mourning for the former President. His remains were taken by official motorcade past the White House where he served to the National Cathedral where an official funeral service was held and he was eulogized by his son, former President George W. Bush. The funeral service brought together all living United States Presidents and their wives in attendance for the first time in this administration. After the state funeral, President Bush's remains were returned to the family plot on the campus of Texas A&M University where he was interred next to his revered wife, Barbara Bush; and
WHEREAS, at the funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral, the younger President Bush delivered the last of four eulogies recalling qualities of integrity, kindness, dignity, humor, empathy, loyalty, generosity and truth. "When the history books are written, they will say that George H.W. Bush was a great President of the United States, a diplomat of unmatched skill, a Commander in Chief of formidable accomplishment and a gentleman who executed the duties of his office with dignity and honor"; and
WHEREAS, President Bush's legacy is a strong and free America, and for this and for a lifetime of selfless service, a grateful State of Mississippi thanks him:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That the Mississippi Legislature:
(a) Has learned with profound sorrow the announcement of the death of George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States of America;
(b) Extends deepest condolences and gratitude to the family of President George H.W. Bush; and
(c) Honors the legacy and life of President George H.W. Bush, his commitment to the people of the United States and service to his nation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives communicate this Concurrent Resolution and transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the late beloved President, and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
