[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 343 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 343
Affirming the support of Congress for preserving President Franklin D.
Roosevelt's profile on the dime because of his innumerable
contributions to and lasting impact on the Nation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 21, 2003
Mr. McGovern (for himself, Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Capuano, Mr. McDermott, Ms.
Slaughter, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Evans, Mr.
Israel, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Etheridge, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr.
Oberstar, Mr. Ford, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Moore, Mr. Reyes,
Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Strickland, Mr.
Lipinski, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Berry, Mr. Brady of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Skelton, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr.
Hoeffel, Mr. Towns, Mr. Meeks of New York, Ms. Bordallo, Ms. DeLauro,
Mr. Levin, Mr. Payne, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Obey, Ms.
Kilpatrick, Mr. Markey, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr.
Engel, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Visclosky, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Stark, Ms. Lee, Ms.
Linda T. Sanchez of California, and Ms. Carson of Indiana) submitted
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Affirming the support of Congress for preserving President Franklin D.
Roosevelt's profile on the dime because of his innumerable
contributions to and lasting impact on the Nation.
Whereas President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, through his efforts as the 32nd
President of the United States, lifted the Nation out of the depths of
the Great Depression, rallied the Nation and the world to defeat
totalitarian regimes and to liberate the oppressed during World War II,
and established a legacy of legislative achievement by which all modern
presidents are judged;
Whereas, in 1933, when President Roosevelt was inaugurated, he inherited a
nation afflicted with 25 percent unemployment, a failed banking system,
a stock market in collapse, 45 percent of farmers facing foreclosure,
and widespread homelessness;
Whereas, in his first 100 days in office, President Roosevelt signed into law 15
major pieces of legislation designed to provide immediate and long-term
relief and economic reform, a legislative record unprecedented at the
time and unmatched since;
Whereas, through innovative programs such as the Works Progress Administration,
the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Tennessee Valley Authority,
President Roosevelt put millions of Americans back to work and created
the Nation's modern infrastructure of roads, dams, bridges, airports,
and highways;
Whereas, through the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935, President
Roosevelt established a national program of unemployment insurance, old-
age insurance, and assistance to the disabled and dependent;
Whereas, in his State of the Union Address of January 6, 1941, President
Roosevelt established the principles by which the Nation should be
guided both at home and abroad, declaring a commitment to 4 freedoms:
freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want,
and freedom from fear;
Whereas, following the attack on American military installations at Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt's words and deeds inspired and
mobilized the Nation to all-out participation in the war effort, both on
the homefront and as members of the United States Armed Forces;
Whereas, by participating in an unprecedented series of wartime summit
conferences with the Nation's allies, President Roosevelt cemented the
bond of friendship with Great Britain, held together a coalition of 41
nations, and formulated the first concepts of a post-war United Nations
Organization;
Whereas, although he did not live to see the end of World War II, President
Roosevelt's leadership was critical to American war production at home
and American military successes overseas;
Whereas, throughout his presidency, Roosevelt advanced the cause of civil rights
in the Nation, requiring New Deal relief agencies to employ women,
African-Americans, and other minorities, and forbidding the agencies
from discriminating in their services;
Whereas Roosevelt was the only president to have been elected to 4 consecutive
terms, and he is the only president known to have served while afflicted
with a serious physical disability;
Whereas, in 1938, President Roosevelt founded the National Foundation for
Infantile Paralysis, a national organization which raised funds to find
a cure for polio;
Whereas, the following year, comedian Eddie Cantor asked the Nation to mail
dimes to the White House to help the Foundation, and in one month, the
White House received $85,000 in dimes, prompting Cantor to declare it
``A March of Dimes,'' a name that became the lasting moniker for the
Foundation;
Whereas, thanks to President Roosevelt and the March of Dimes, polio is now a
thing of the past in the United States; and
Whereas, following President Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, the selection
of the dime as a place to honor him was logical, and the new Roosevelt
dime was issued on January 30, 1946: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress affirms its support for preserving President Franklin D.
Roosevelt's profile on the dime because of his innumerable
contributions to and lasting impact on the Nation.
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