III
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 234
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 7, 2005
Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Specter, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Allard, Mr. Allen, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Biden, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Bond, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Burns, Mr. Burr, Mr. Byrd, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Carper, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Chambliss, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Coleman, Ms. Collins, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Craig, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Dayton, Mr. DeMint, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Kyl, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Lott, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Martinez, Mr. McCain, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Murkowski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Obama, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Reed, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Smith, Ms. Snowe, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Talent, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thune, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
RESOLUTION
Relative to the death of William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States.
Whereas William H. Rehnquist, the late Chief Justice of the United States, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to William Benjamin Rehnquist and Margery Peck Rehnquist and raised in Shorewood, Wisconsin;
Whereas a young William H. Rehnquist served our Nation during the Second World War in the United States Army Air Force at home and abroad from 1943 to 1946;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist enrolled in Stanford University, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist earned a second master’s degree in government from Harvard University;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist graduated first in a very impressive class, including his future Supreme Court colleague, Sandra Day O’Connor, from Stanford University’s School of Law;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist began his legal career by serving as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist married the late Natalie Cornell, and they raised three children, James, Janet, and Nancy;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist was an accomplished attorney, having practiced law for 16 years in Phoenix, Arizona;
Whereas President Richard Nixon selected William H. Rehnquist to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice;
Whereas President Richard Nixon also nominated William H. Rehnquist to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States;
Whereas President Ronald Reagan nominated William H. Rehnquist to serve as the sixteenth Chief Justice of the United States;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist had a profound love for history and respect for the arts and served as Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution for 19 years;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist was a skilled writer and avid historian and authored several books on Supreme Court history and the American legal system;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist was a man of enormous intellect and great common sense, a combination that was reflected in the clarity of his opinions;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist’s record illustrates his unwavering commitment to judicial restraint, judicial independence, and the rule of law;
Whereas, under his firm leadership and superb managerial skills, William H. Rehnquist efficiently managed the Supreme Court of the United States for 19 years;
Whereas leaders of both political parties agree that William H. Rehnquist served with honor and integrity in his role as the second Chief Justice of the United States to preside over a presidential impeachment trial, respecting the institutional domain of the Senate and its processes, procedures, and traditions;
Whereas, as the leader of the Supreme Court, William H. Rehnquist was highly regarded by all of his colleagues, including those with differing judicial philosophies;
Whereas
his former colleagues have described William H. Rehnquist as a splendid
administrator
, “the most efficient manager”, “a great Chief Justice”,
“meticulously fair”, and the most all-around successful
Chief
Justice;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist served with distinction on the Supreme Court of the United States for over 14 years as an Associate Justice and 19 years as the Chief Justice, more than 33 years in all;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist was the fourth longest serving Chief Justice of the United States;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist was one of our Nation’s most influential and memorable Chief Justices;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist was the embodiment of the ideal qualities of a judge, fair, impartial, open minded, and above all committed to the Constitution and the rule of law;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist will be remembered as one of the greatest Chief Justices of the United States;
Whereas William H. Rehnquist passed away on September 3, 2005, surrounded by his loving family; and
Whereas our Nation is deeply indebted to William H. Rehnquist, a truly distinguished American: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
extends its heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends of William H. Rehnquist;
acknowledges William H. Rehnquist’s lifelong service to the United States of America as a World War II veteran, a talented attorney, a dedicated public servant, a brilliant jurist, and one of our Nation’s greatest Chief Justices; and
commends William H. Rehnquist for his 33 year tenure on the Supreme Court of the United States and his many accomplishments as Chief Justice of the United States.