Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SR390 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 390
2	2	WHEREAS, On February 9, 2020, former NASA astronaut
3	3	Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. will celebrate the 25th anniversary of
4	4	the historic day on which he became the first African American to
5	5	conduct a space walk, and the Senate of the State of Texas is
6	6	proud to honor the native Texan's tremendous accomplishment with
7	7	this recognition; and
8	8	WHEREAS, Born on June 26, 1956, in Temple, Texas,
9	9	Dr. Harris graduated from Sam Houston High School in San
10	10	Antonio, Texas; he earned a bachelor of science degree in
11	11	biology from the University of Houston, and in 1982, he earned
12	12	his medical degree from the Texas Tech University Health
13	13	Sciences Center School of Medicine; Dr. Harris then completed
14	14	his residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in 1985;
15	15	he went on to earn a National Research Council Fellowship at
16	16	NASA's Ames Research Center and to train as a flight surgeon at
17	17	the Aerospace School of Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in
18	18	San Antonio; in addition, he received a master's degree in
19	19	biomedical science from The University of Texas Medical Branch
20	20	at Galveston in 1996 and a master's degree in business
21	21	administration from the University of Houston Clear Lake in
22	22	1999; and
23	23	WHEREAS, Dr. Harris joined NASA's Johnson Space Center as
24	24	a clinical scientist and a flight surgeon in January of 1990,
25	25	fulfilling a dream that began as he watched the Apollo 11
26	26	mission on television; following years of training, Dr. Harris
27	27	first flew in space on the Columbia for 10 days in 1993 and
28	28	logged more than four million miles; NASA then chose him to be
29	29	the payload specialist for its Shuttle Discovery Mission
30	30	STS-63, and during the mission, he spent a total of four hours
31	31	38 minutes in extravehicular activity, becoming the first
32	32	African American to do so; Dr. Harris and the rest of the crew
33	33	traveled more than three million miles in that historic
34	34	mission, which also represented the first rendezvous with
35	35	Russian space station Mir; and
36	36	WHEREAS, Inspired by his own passion for the study of
37	37	Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, Dr. Harris set his
38	38	sights on making improvements to the country's educational
39	39	programs; he first established The Harris Foundation, a
40	40	Houston-based nonprofit organization that connects low-income
41	41	students to STEM education opportunities; Dr. Harris later
42	42	expanded his passion for bringing STEM education opportunities
43	43	to children across the United States when he became chief
44	44	executive officer of the Dallas-based National Math and Science
45	45	Initiative; the organization annually provides hundreds of
46	46	schools across the nation, including schools supporting
47	47	America's military families, with STEM education programs to
48	48	make America's next generation prepared for the world of the
49	49	future; and
50	50	WHEREAS, A former astronaut, a licensed pilot, a certified
51	51	scuba diver, and a founder of educational programs and
52	52	institutes, Dr. Harris is a man of countless passions, interests,
53	53	and talents; his achievements would be too numerous to list, but
54	54	he serves as a role model of what a native Texan can accomplish;
55	55	for his commitment to helping thousands of children across the
56	56	United States to seize the benefits offered through STEM
57	57	education availability, his outstanding accomplishments in
58	58	multiple fields, and his unending thirst to help others, he is
59	59	truly a treasured citizen of our state; now, therefore, be it
60	60	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th
61	61	Legislature, hereby congratulate Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. on
62	62	the 25th anniversary of his historic space walk and commend him
63	63	on his lifetime commitment to improving the educational
64	64	opportunities for the children of our state and nation; and, be
65	65	it further
66	66	RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
67	67	Dr. Harris as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate.
68	68	Whitmire
69	69	________________________________
70	70	President of the Senate
71	71	I hereby certify that the
72	72	above Resolution was adopted by
73	73	the Senate on March 13, 2019.
74	74	________________________________
75	75	Secretary of the Senate
76	76	________________________________
77	77	Member, Texas Senate