Bill Text: TX HCR121 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the founding of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-13 - Received from the House [HCR121 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HCR121-Introduced.html
| 86R16279 BPG-D | ||
| By: Davis of Harris | H.C.R. No. 121 | |
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| WHEREAS, The Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice | ||
| University in Houston is marking its 25th anniversary in 2019; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Founded in 1993, the nonprofit nonpartisan think | ||
| tank is dedicated to building a bridge between "the world of ideas | ||
| and the world of action"; it bears the name of James A. Baker III, a | ||
| native Texan who served as White House chief of staff and secretary | ||
| of the treasury under President Ronald Reagan and as secretary of | ||
| state and White House chief of staff under President George H. W. | ||
| Bush; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The institute has been led since 1994 by director | ||
| Edward P. Djerejian; a diplomat under eight administrations, he | ||
| held such key posts as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern | ||
| affairs and ambassador to Syria and Israel; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In the institute's early years, its research agenda | ||
| was informed by Rice's geographic proximity to Mexico, the Texas | ||
| Medical Center, and the global capital of the energy industry; | ||
| Ambassador Djerejian's expertise led to the creation of the Center | ||
| for the Middle East, and the institute's focus continued to expand | ||
| significantly over the years; today, it encompasses 16 research | ||
| centers and programs, and more than 50 research fellows, scholars, | ||
| and other staff members work from the Rice campus headquarters, | ||
| while dozens of faculty members also hold appointments with the | ||
| center; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Through research, analysis, and advocacy, the | ||
| institute's scholars and fellows have sought answers to the world's | ||
| most daunting policy issues, and their expertise has been sought | ||
| after by journalists and decision-makers alike; Baker fellows met | ||
| more than a dozen times last year with representatives from state | ||
| and federal agencies, as well as with legislators and their staffs, | ||
| and they testified at state and federal committee hearings; | ||
| moreover, local, state, and national reporters turn to Baker | ||
| Institute scholars for informed commentary on and context for the | ||
| news of the day, and in the last fiscal year, the think tank tallied | ||
| some 20,000 media citations; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Recognizing its impact and public engagement, the | ||
| University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies | ||
| Program has ranked the Baker Institute third among all the world's | ||
| university-affiliated think tanks; Rice students benefit from the | ||
| presence of a policy-oriented "thought factory" on campus, and the | ||
| institute's dynamic, wide-ranging speaker series is a boon to the | ||
| public; a host of prominent statesmen, diplomats, religious | ||
| leaders, writers, scientists, and artists have been invited to | ||
| speak on campus, including Palestine Liberation Organization | ||
| Chairman Yasser Arafat, Russian President Vladimir Putin, former | ||
| Israeli President Shimon Peres, former Pakistani President Pervez | ||
| Musharraf, former South African President Nelson Mandela, and the | ||
| Dalai Lama; since its inception, the institute has hosted every | ||
| living former president of the United States; and | ||
| WHEREAS, For 25 years, the Baker Institute has been deeply | ||
| immersed in our national conversations, providing scholarly | ||
| expertise, empirical research, and insights born of firsthand | ||
| experience on the issues that define our time and shape our world; | ||
| now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding of Rice | ||
| University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and honor its | ||
| namesake, former secretary of state James A. Baker III, for his long | ||
| and distinguished career in public service; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared | ||
| for Secretary Baker and Ambassador Djerejian as an expression of | ||
| high regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. | ||
