Bill Text: CA SCR3 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: President George H.W. Bush Day.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 23-1)
Status: (Passed) 2019-04-05 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 29, Statutes of 2019. [SCR3 Detail]
Download: California-2019-SCR3-Chaptered.html
| Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 3 |
| CHAPTER 29 |
Relative to President George H.W. Bush Day.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
April 05, 2019.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 3, Bates.
President George H.W. Bush Day.
This measure would honor the late former President George H.W. Bush and dedicate June 12, 2019, and every June 12 thereafter, as President George H.W. Bush Day.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, George Herbert Walker Bush, as the 41st President of the United States, brought to the White House a dedication to traditional American values and a determination to direct those values toward making the United States “a kinder and gentler nation.” In his Inaugural Address, President Bush pledged in “a moment rich with promise” to use American strength as “a force for good”; and
WHEREAS, Coming from a family with a tradition of public service, George H.W. Bush felt the responsibility to make his contribution in times of war and in times of peace. Born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924, he was a student leader at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the armed forces on his 18th birthday. As one of the youngest pilots in the United States Navy when he received his wings, Bush flew 58 combat missions during World War II serving as a torpedo bomber pilot. On one mission over the Pacific he was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire and was rescued from the water by a United States Navy submarine. For his bravery in action, Bush was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; and
WHEREAS, After he was honorably discharged from the United States Navy, Bush focused on completing his education and raising a family. In January 1945 he married Barbara Pierce. They had six children: George, Robin (who died as a child), John (known as Jeb), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. At Yale University he excelled both in sports and academics; he was captain of the baseball team and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating from Yale University, Bush embarked on a career in the oil industry of West Texas; and
WHEREAS, Like his father, Prescott Bush, who was elected a Senator from Connecticut in 1952, George H.W. Bush became interested in public service and politics. He served two terms as a Representative to Congress from Texas, but ran twice unsuccessfully for the Senate. Bush was appointed to a series of high-level positions: Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the United States Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and
WHEREAS, In 1980, George H.W. Bush campaigned for the Republican nomination for President, which he lost, but was selected by Ronald Reagan to be his running mate. As Vice President, Bush had responsibility in several domestic areas, including federal deregulation and antidrug programs, and visited numerous foreign countries. In 1988, Bush won the Republican nomination for President and, with Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate, he defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the general election to win the presidency; and
WHEREAS, President Bush faced a dramatically changing world at the beginning of his term, as the Cold War ended after 40 bitter years, the Communist empire broke up, and the Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union ceased to exist and reformist President Mikhail Gorbachev, whom President Bush had supported, resigned. While he hailed the march of democracy, President Bush insisted on restraint in the United States policy toward the group of new nations; and
WHEREAS, In 1989, President Bush sent American troops into Panama to overthrow the corrupt regime of General Manuel Noriega, who was threatening the security of the Panama Canal and the Americans living there. Noriega was eventually brought to the United States for trial as a drug trafficker; and
WHEREAS, President Bush’s greatest test came when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 and then threatened to move into Saudi Arabia. Vowing to free Kuwait, President Bush rallied the United Nations, the American people, and Congress and sent 425,000 American troops, who were joined by 118,000 troops from allied nations. After weeks of air and missile bombardment, the 100-hour land battle known as Desert Storm routed Iraq’s million-man army; and
WHEREAS, Despite unprecedented popularity from this military and diplomatic triumph, President Bush was unable to withstand discontent within the nation from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner cities, and continued high deficit spending. In 1992, President Bush lost his bid for reelection to Democrat William J. Clinton; and
WHEREAS, George H.W. Bush passed away on November 30, 2018, at his home in Houston, Texas, at the age of 94; and
WHEREAS, In a statement memorializing George H.W. Bush, Former President Barack H. Obama said, “America has lost a patriot and humble servant in George Herbert Walker Bush. While our hearts are heavy today, they are also filled with gratitude. Not merely for the years he spent as our forty-first President, but for the more than 70 years he spent in devoted service to the country he loved – from a decorated Naval aviator who nearly gave his life in World War II, to Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces, with plenty of posts along the way. Ambassador to the United Nations. Director of Central Intelligence. U.S. Envoy to China. Vice President of the United States. George H.W. Bush’s life is a testament to the notion that public service is a noble, joyous calling. And he did tremendous good along the journey. Expanding America’s promise to new immigrants and people with disabilities. ... And
when democratic revolutions bloomed across Eastern Europe, it was his steady, diplomatic hand that made possible an achievement once thought anything but – ending the Cold War without firing a shot. It’s a legacy of service that may never be matched, even though he’d want all of us to try. ... What a testament to the qualities that make this country great. Service to others. Commitment to leaving behind something better. Sacrifice in the name of lifting this country closer to its founding ideals.”; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature honors the late former President George H.W. Bush and dedicates June 12, 2019, and every June 12 thereafter, as President George H.W. Bush Day; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
