[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 116 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 116
Commemorating the life, achievements, and contributions of Al Lerner.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 9, 2003
Mr. DeWine (for himself and Mr. Voinovich) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
June 5, 2003
Reported by Mr. Hatch, without amendment; considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the life, achievements, and contributions of Al Lerner.
Whereas Alfred Lerner (``Al'' to those who knew him best) was a successful,
humble, compassionate, and well respected member of his family and
community whose life was devoted to civic involvement and efforts to
improve the quality of education and health care available to his fellow
citizens;
Whereas Al Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1933, graduated from
Brooklyn Technical High School in 1951, and received a B.A. from
Columbia College in 1955;
Whereas Al Lerner was a Marine Corps officer and pilot from 1955 through 1957,
displaying his love of country by wearing his Marine Corps cap long
after finishing his tour of duty, and later was a director of the Marine
Corps Law Enforcement Foundation;
Whereas Al Lerner was the son of Russian immigrants, and in 2002 received the
Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which celebrates immigrant heritage and
individual achievements;
Whereas Al Lerner and his high school sweetheart, best friend, and partner in
life, Norma Lerner, shared 47 years of marriage and were deeply
committed to their 2 children, Randy and Nancy;
Whereas Al and Norma Lerner made extremely generous contributions to local and
national charities, including a contribution of $10,000,000 in 1993 to
Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, a donation of
$16,000,000 to support construction of the Lerner Research Institute,
and a donation of $100,000,000 to the Cleveland Clinic--one of the
largest donations to academic medicine in the history of the United
States;
Whereas Al Lerner served as president and trustee of the Cleveland Clinic
Foundation where the Lerner Research Institute was established to
conduct research of new treatments for cancer, coronary artery disease,
and AIDS;
Whereas Al Lerner, along with his business partner Carmen Policy, reestablished
a National Football League team in Northern Ohio when he purchased the
expansion Cleveland Browns football organization in 1998, worked hard to
make the people of Cleveland and Northern Ohio proud of their football
team, and was subsequently appointed chairman of the National Football
League Finance Committee;
Whereas the Cleveland Browns, on the strength of Al Lerner's leadership, reached
the National Football League playoffs following the 2002 season, only 4
years after returning to the league;
Whereas Al Lerner served as founder, chairman, and chief executive of MBNA
Corporation, which employs thousands of people in Ohio and is the
Nation's largest issuer of independent credit cards;
Whereas Al Lerner served as vice chairman, trustee, and benefactor of Columbia
College, which is now known as Columbia University, and also served as a
trustee for Case Western Reserve University and New York Presbyterian
Hospital;
Whereas Al Lerner helped raise funds, through his affiliation with MBNA and the
Cleveland Browns, for the ``Cleveland Browns Hero Fund'' to aid families
from the New York City Fire and Police Departments who suffered the loss
of a parent in the tragic September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks;
Whereas Al Lerner was appointed in 2001 by President Bush as 1 of 15 members of
the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which advises the
President concerning the quality and adequacy of intelligence
collection, intelligence analysis and estimates, counter-intelligence,
and other intelligence activities;
Whereas Al Lerner is survived by his wife, partner, and best friend, Norma,
their son Randy, their daughter Nancy, and 7 grandchildren; and
Whereas Al Lerner passed away on October 23, 2002, and the contributions he made
to his family, his community, and his Nation will not be forgotten: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) honors the life, achievements, and contributions of
Alfred Lerner; and
(2) extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Alfred
Lerner for the loss of a great and generous man.
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