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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Henry John Hyde, who was born in Illinois on April
3 18, 1924, has been a Republican member of the United States
4 House of Representatives since 1975, representing the 6th
5 District of Illinois; Congressman Hyde grew up in Chicago as an
6 Irish-Catholic Democrat; he began having doubts about the
7 Democrat Party in the late 1940s, and by 1952, he had switched
8 parties and backed Dwight D. Eisenhower for president; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Congressman Hyde attended Duke University,
10 graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and
11 obtained his law degree from Loyola University; Congressman
12 Hyde served in the United States Navy before entering the U.S.
13 House of Representatives; he enlisted in the U.S. Navy on
14 November 11, 1942, attended the Navy V-12 Program at Duke
15 University and Notre Dame University, attended Midshipman's
16 School in 1943-44, was a commissioned Ensign, USNR, October,
17 1944, and served in the South Pacific, New Guinea, and in
18 combat in the Philippines until August 1946; he served in the
19 U.S. Naval Reserves from 1946-68 and retired at the rank of
20 Commander after serving as officer in charge, U.S. Naval
21 Intelligence Reserve Unit, Chicago; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Before serving in the U.S. Congress, Henry J. Hyde
23 also served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1966
24 through 1974; during that time, Representative Hyde was one of
25 its most outspoken and articulate debaters, rising to majority
26 leader; in 1974, longtime GOP Representative Harold Collier
27 retired from the suburban 6th Congressional District; Henry
28 Hyde ran for Collier's vacated seat, winning with 53 percent of
29 the vote; and
 
30     WHEREAS, Sworn into the House of Representatives in 1975,
31 Congressman Hyde is regarded as a strong and respected leader
32 by members of both sides of the aisle; during his tenure, he

 

 

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1 has worked hard to improve the lives of seniors, veterans,
2 children, working families, and small business owners -- the
3 people who make up the 6th Congressional District of Illinois;
4 these also are the people he remembers every time he considers
5 legislative proposals or casts his ballot; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Congressman Hyde's mission has always been the
7 same - to bring jobs, better education, and more opportunities
8 to the people who live in suburban Cook and DuPage counties;
9 the results of his dedicated service can be seen in communities
10 throughout the 6th district, including public works projects to
11 provide flood control and clean drinking water, citizenship
12 projects in local school districts, and new housing
13 developments for senior citizens and special needs children;
14 Congressman Hyde also has helped numerous fire departments and
15 police departments obtain grants for new equipment such as
16 bulletproof vests; additionally, Congressman Hyde continues to
17 oppose expansion at O'Hare International Airport, supporting
18 instead the building of a third regional airport in Peotone;
19 and
 
20     WHEREAS, As the current chairman of the House International
21 Relations Committee, of which he has been a member since 1982,
22 Congressman Hyde and the Committee's senior Democrat, U.S. Rep.
23 Tom Lantos (D-CA), authored America's worldwide response to the
24 HIV/AIDS crisis in 2003 and landmark foreign assistance
25 legislation creating the Millennium Challenge Corporation and
26 expanding U.S. funding for successful micro-enterprise
27 initiatives; during his long career, Congressman Hyde has also
28 been involved in crucial debates over U.S.-Soviet relations,
29 Central America policy, the War Powers Act, NATO expansion, the
30 investigation of the Iran-Contra affair, and, most recently,
31 sponsorship of a bill that ties payment of U.S. dues for United
32 Nations operations to efforts mandating reform of the
33 institution's management; an original sponsor of the Brady Bill
34 requiring background checks for gun buyers, Congressman Hyde

 

 

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1 broke with his party in 1994 and supported a ban on the sale of
2 assault weapons; an original sponsor of family leave
3 legislation, Representative Hyde said the law promoted
4 "capitalism with a human face"; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Congressman Hyde, as chairman of the House
6 International Relations Committee, has also played a vital role
7 in this nation's war on terrorism; from closed-door briefings
8 at the White House to high-level meetings with foreign
9 diplomats, Congressman Hyde has been involved in crucial
10 debates about how the country must respond to the terrorist
11 attacks perpetrated on our nation September 11, 2001; through
12 his leadership, the International Relations Committee has
13 brought attention to the fact that America does not do a good
14 enough job telling its story abroad; the committee also has
15 spent time exploring the threat of biological and chemical
16 weapons in an effort to ensure our government is doing all it
17 can to protect the public; therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20 Congressman Henry J. Hyde be honored for his distinguished
21 record of public service for the State of Illinois and all of
22 its citizens; as a true example of a public servant,
23 Congressman Hyde is recognized for fervently fighting for what
24 is right for the taxpayers and citizens of both the great State
25 of Illinois as well as each and every individual within this
26 nation; furthermore, Congressman Hyde's honesty and integrity
27 as a public servant were evident from his first day in the
28 Illinois General Assembly, were strengthened when he was sworn
29 into the United States House of Representatives, and have
30 become the standard to which every public servant of Illinois
31 should strive to achieve; though Congressman Hyde has decided
32 to retire and leave the U.S. House of Representatives after his
33 current term expires in 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives
34 will never be able to replace his knowledge, skill, tenacity,

 

 

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1 integrity, and the love he had for all persons in this nation,
2 and especially the citizens of Illinois that he loyally and
3 honorably represented; and be it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5 presented to U.S. Congressman Henry J. Hyde and his family as
6 an expression of our respect and esteem.