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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Bernard "Bernie" Nash on
4the occasion of his 100th birthday on November 7, 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bernie Nash was born in Minnesota on November 7,
61922; he joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 19 in 1941; he
7trained at the Glenview Naval Air Station, located north of
8Chicago, where he learned to fly a single-engine, two-person
9dive bomber called the Douglas SBD Dauntless; he later saw
10combat in World War II; he stepped away from active duty,
11continuing to serve in the U.S. Naval Reserves until he
12retired as a two-star rear admiral in 1982; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Bernie Nash took a job with the federal
14government in the 1960s, during which the Older Americans Act
15of 1965 had created the Administration on Aging within the
16U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, where he
17worked as deputy commissioner; he became a key figure in the
18fight to establish the Medicare and Medicaid programs that
19began in 1965; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Bernie Nash became the first executive director
21of AARP after leaving the Administration on Aging, and he
22served in that position until his retirement in 1982; during

 

 

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1his tenure, he was credited with establishing the Tax-Aide
2Program in the 1970s, a program in which AARP volunteers help
3older Americans file income taxes and save millions of dollars
4a year by claiming deductions they otherwise might have
5missed, serving 2.7 million annually today; he was also
6credited with helping to found the Foster Grandparents
7program, in which older volunteers serve as mentors and role
8models to children; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Bernie Nash was the first speaker at the 2015
10White House Conference on Aging, where he introduced Valerie
11Jarrett, senior adviser to then-President Barack Obama, and
12was also acknowledged as a leading figure in the fight to
13establish the Medicare and Medicaid programs; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Bernie Nash currently lives at the Smith Crossing
15senior living community in Orland Park; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
17HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18we congratulate Bernard "Bernie" Nash on celebrating his 100th
19birthday, and we wish him many more happy and healthy years;
20and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22presented to Bernie Nash as an expression of our esteem and

 

 

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1respect.