HR0982 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0982 LRB102 29336 LAW 41316 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Bernard "Bernie" Nash on the occasion of his 100th birthday on November 7, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Bernie Nash was born in Minnesota on November 7, 1922; he joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 19 in 1941; he trained at the Glenview Naval Air Station, located north of Chicago, where he learned to fly a single-engine, two-person dive bomber called the Douglas SBD Dauntless; he later saw combat in World War II; he stepped away from active duty, continuing to serve in the U.S. Naval Reserves until he retired as a two-star rear admiral in 1982; and

WHEREAS, Bernie Nash took a job with the federal government in the 1960s, during which the Older Americans Act of 1965 had created the Administration on Aging within the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, where he worked as deputy commissioner; he became a key figure in the fight to establish the Medicare and Medicaid programs that began in 1965; and

WHEREAS, Bernie Nash became the first executive director of AARP after leaving the Administration on Aging, and he served in that position until his retirement in 1982; during his tenure, he was credited with establishing the Tax-Aide Program in the 1970s, a program in which AARP volunteers help older Americans file income taxes and save millions of dollars a year by claiming deductions they otherwise might have missed, serving 2.7 million annually today; he was also credited with helping to found the Foster Grandparents program, in which older volunteers serve as mentors and role models to children; and

WHEREAS, Bernie Nash was the first speaker at the 2015 White House Conference on Aging, where he introduced Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to then-President Barack Obama, and was also acknowledged as a leading figure in the fight to establish the Medicare and Medicaid programs; and

WHEREAS, Bernie Nash currently lives at the Smith Crossing senior living community in Orland Park; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Bernard "Bernie" Nash on celebrating his 100th birthday, and we wish him many more happy and healthy years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Bernie Nash as an expression of our esteem and respect.