By Craddick                                           H.C.R. No. 28
       74R2506 PAN-D
                                 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, April 22, 1994, marked the passing of the 37th
    1-2  president of the United States, Richard Milhous Nixon, and with his
    1-3  death the nation has lost one of the finest foreign policy
    1-4  strategists of this century; and
    1-5        WHEREAS, A native of California, he was born January 9, 1913,
    1-6  to Francis and Hannah Nixon in the community of Yorba Linda, where
    1-7  he spent the early years of his life before moving with his family
    1-8  to nearby Whittier; an outstanding student who excelled in debate,
    1-9  he earned his undergraduate education at Whittier College and was
   1-10  graduated second in his class in 1934; and
   1-11        WHEREAS, He enrolled at Duke University Law School and, after
   1-12  graduating third in his class, returned to Whittier to practice as
   1-13  a trial lawyer; shortly thereafter, he made the acquaintance of Pat
   1-14  Ryan, who was employed as a shorthand and typing teacher at the
   1-15  local high school, and the couple were united in marriage in 1940;
   1-16  and
   1-17        WHEREAS, This patriotic gentleman answered his nation's call
   1-18  to arms in 1942 and began a four-year tour of duty as a member of
   1-19  the United States Navy; after completing his military duty, he
   1-20  returned to California and won a seat in the congress in 1946; and
   1-21        WHEREAS, The young Republican quickly made a name for
   1-22  himself, and after two terms as a member of the United States House
   1-23  of Representatives, he was elected to the United States Senate;
   1-24  while a senator, he was chosen as Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice
    2-1  presidential running mate and in 1952 began serving the first of
    2-2  two terms as vice president; and
    2-3        WHEREAS, Nominated as his party's presidential candidate in
    2-4  1960, he was narrowly defeated by President John F. Kennedy but
    2-5  never lost sight of his goal to achieve the presidency; he went on
    2-6  to win the presidency in 1968 in a narrow victory over Hubert
    2-7  Humphrey and was reelected by a landslide margin four years later;
    2-8  and
    2-9        WHEREAS, Among his greatest triumphs as president were his
   2-10  historic first trip to Beijing in 1972 that resulted in the opening
   2-11  of China to the West and the signing of the Strategic Arms
   2-12  Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union, America's principal threat
   2-13  at the time, which the president brought to fruition through his
   2-14  negotiations with Leonid Brezhnev; and
   2-15        WHEREAS, President Nixon's domestic accomplishments included
   2-16  such significant achievements as creating the Environmental
   2-17  Protection Agency, increasing social security benefits by more than
   2-18  50 percent, launching an aggressive campaign against cancer, and
   2-19  boosting spending for mass transit, parks, and the arts; and
   2-20        WHEREAS, In his retirement, former President Nixon authored a
   2-21  number of books and lectured extensively throughout the country;
   2-22  regarded by many as brilliant in the realm of foreign relations,
   2-23  his wise counsel was sought by subsequent presidents, and he
   2-24  continued to be held in high esteem by foreign dignitaries from
   2-25  around the world for his momentous achievements as a diplomat; and
   2-26        WHEREAS, A determined leader and a historic force for world
   2-27  peace, Richard Nixon played a vital role in helping to make the
    3-1  world a safer place for all of its citizens, and he is indeed
    3-2  deserving of special recognition for the enduring legacy he leaves
    3-3  behind; now, therefore, be it
    3-4        RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas,
    3-5  Regular Session, 1995, hereby pay tribute to the life of former
    3-6  United States President Richard Milhous Nixon and extend deepest
    3-7  sympathy to his daughters, Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Tricia Nixon
    3-8  Cox, and to his many other friends and relatives; and, be it
    3-9  further
   3-10        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
   3-11  prepared for the members of his family and that when the Texas
   3-12  House of Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in
   3-13  memory of the 37th president of the United States, Richard Milhous
   3-14  Nixon.