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General Assembly House Joint Resolution No.
18
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 3804
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
RESOLUTION COMMEMORA TING THE LIFE OF FORMER
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W . BUSH.
Resolved by this Assembly:
WHEREAS, George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the 1
United States, was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, to 2
Dorothy Walker Bush and Prescott Bush; and 3
WHEREAS, shortly after his birth, George H.W. Bush's family 4
moved to Connecticut, where his father would later become a United 5
States Senator; and 6
WHEREAS, George H.W. Bush was raised in Greenwich, 7
Connecticut, and was active in leadership and athletics during high 8
school; and 9
WHEREAS, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, George H.W. Bush 10
enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in 1942 on his 18th 11
birthday, was assigned to a torpedo squadron as a photographic 12
officer, and went on to become one of the youngest aviators in the 13 Committee Bill No. 18
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Navy during World War II; and 14
WHEREAS, George H.W. Bush served the United States honorably 15
as a naval pilot during World War II, logging 1,228 hours of flight 16
time, 126 carrier landings and 58 combat missions; and 17
WHEREAS, George H.W. Bush was awarded the United States 18
Navy Air Medal with two gold stars and the Distinguished Flying 19
Cross for bravery in action; and 20
WHEREAS, on January 6, 1945, George H.W. Bush married Barbara 21
Pierce, and their marriage lasted 73 years, the longest presidential 22
marriage in the history of the United States; and 23
WHEREAS, while enrolled at Yale University following World War 24
II, George H.W. Bush played in two College World Series games before 25
graduating in 1948 with a degree in economics and moving to Texas 26
with Barbara and his eldest son, George W. Bush; and 27
WHEREAS, upon moving to west Texas, George H.W. Bush became 28
a successful businessman, establishing himself in the oil and gas 29
industry before being elected to the United States House of 30
Representatives in 1966; and 31
WHEREAS, George H.W. Bush served two terms in the House of 32
Representatives as Congressman from the 7th District of Texas; and 33
WHEREAS, George H.W. Bush served as United States Ambassador 34
to the United Nations from 1971 to 1973, which led to his appointment 35
as Chief of the United States Liaison Office in the People's Republic of 36
China in 1974; and 37
WHEREAS, President Gerald Ford appointed George H.W. Bush to 38
serve as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1976; and 39
WHEREAS, George H.W. Bush served as Vice President of the 40
United States for eight years under President Ronald Reagan, 41 Committee Bill No. 18
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managing Federal deregulation, championing anti-drug efforts, 42
combatting terrorism and leading North Atlantic Treaty Organization 43
negotiations during the Cold War; and 44
WHEREAS, in 1988, the people of the United States elected Vice 45
President George H.W. Bush to serve as the 41st President of the 46
United States, the first serving Vice President to be elected President 47
since 1836; and 48
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush worked closely with his 49
international counterparts throughout his presidency and oversaw the 50
end of the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of 51
Germany, and worked with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to sign 52
two treaties reducing the threat of nuclear war; and 53
WHEREAS, the efforts of President George H.W. Bush to negotiate 54
the North American Free Trade Agreement led to the adoption of that 55
agreement in 1993; and 56
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush protected the Panama 57
Canal from a corrupt regime, assembled a multinational force to 58
compel the withdrawal of Iraq from Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War 59
and convened the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991; and 60
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush worked with Congress to 61
enact the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 USC 12101 et 62
seq.) and Public Law 101–549 (commonly known as the "Clean Air Act 63
Amendments of 1990") and hosted an education summit with 64
governors from all fifty states in the pursuit of systemic education 65
reform; and 66
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush believed "there could be 67
no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others" 68
and therefore, as President, launched the Points of Light initiative to 69
promote volunteerism and community service across America and, 70
while in office, awarded 1,020 Daily Points of Light to Americans 71
representing all fifty states; and 72 Committee Bill No. 18
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WHEREAS, after leaving office, President George H.W. Bush 73
remained dedicated to volunteerism and community service, raising 74
hundreds of millions of dollars for charity; and 75
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush was the father of the 43rd 76
President of the United States, George W. Bush, who was also the 77
former Governor of Texas; and 78
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush received the Presidential 79
Medal of Freedom on February 15, 2011, from President Barack 80
Obama; and 81
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush never lost his zeal for life 82
and adventure and commemorated his 75th, 80th, 85th and 90th 83
birthdays with parachute jumps; and 84
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush was a dedicated family 85
man and husband of 73 years who, with Barbara, had 6 children, 17 86
grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren, and resided in Houston, 87
Texas, and Kennebunkport, Maine; and 88
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush showed unwavering love 89
and devotion to his family, the United States and the world; and 90
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Connecticut 91
General Assembly expresses its sincere sympathy and heartfelt 92
condolences on the passing of a distinguished statesman and longtime 93
public servant, George H.W. Bush, whose death is a profound loss to 94
his family and friends, to public service and to the people of both the 95
State of Connecticut and the United States of America; and 96
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the clerks of the Senate and the 97
House of Representatives cause a copy of this resolution to be sent to 98
the family of President George H.W. Bush as an expression of the high 99
esteem in which he was held. 100
Committee Bill No. 18
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GAE Joint Favorable