By: Armbrister, Henderson S.C.R. No. 68
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1-1 WHEREAS, George Bush, 41st president of the United States,
1-2 has distinguished himself over a remarkable career as a combat
1-3 veteran, businessman in the oil industry, public servant and
1-4 international statesman, and respected citizen of the State of
1-5 Texas; and
1-6 WHEREAS, Born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, the
1-7 future president grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended
1-8 Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he was active in
1-9 athletics and served as senior class president, receiving his
1-10 diploma in 1942; and
1-11 WHEREAS, Enlisting in the naval reserve, Mr. Bush completed
1-12 flight training at Corpus Christi and received commission as an
1-13 ensign; assigned in late 1943 to a torpedo bomber squadron based
1-14 with the aircraft carrier U.S.S. San Jacinto, he had the
1-15 distinction at that time of being the youngest pilot in the United
1-16 States Navy and soon was promoted to lieutenant junior grade; and
1-17 WHEREAS, Shot down over the Pacific island of Chi Chi Jima,
1-18 the intrepid 20-year-old aviator was rescued by a submarine,
1-19 survived depth charging, rejoined his carrier and squadron, and
1-20 completed an impressive tour of combat duty that was recognized by
1-21 the award of three Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross;
1-22 and
1-23 WHEREAS, In January, 1945, he married Barbara Pierce, a Smith
2-1 College student and the future first lady, and earned an
2-2 undergraduate degree in economics at Yale University, where he
2-3 captained the varsity baseball team and graduated with Phi Beta
2-4 Kappa honors; and
2-5 WHEREAS, Returning to the state where he had undergone flight
2-6 training, he worked for Dresser Industries, an oil field supply
2-7 company in West Texas, and became a salesman of petroleum drilling
2-8 bits, requiring a brief relocation to Bakersfield, California; and
2-9 WHEREAS, In 1950 Mr. Bush and a partner established the
2-10 Bush-Overbey Oil Development Company, a Texas firm that dealt in
2-11 oil and gas properties, and three years later co-founded the Zapata
2-12 Petroleum Corporation, which led in turn to the Zapata Offshore
2-13 Company and brought the young businessman to Houston in 1958; and
2-14 WHEREAS, Active in party politics and an unsuccessful nominee
2-15 for the U.S. Senate in 1964, he persevered and won a seat in the
2-16 U.S. House of Representatives in 1966, becoming the first
2-17 Republican congressman from Houston and the first freshman in 60
2-18 years to be named to the prestigious Ways and Means Committee; and
2-19 WHEREAS, After two terms in Congress, he was appointed in
2-20 1970 as this nation's representative to the United Nations and
2-21 there deliberated with foreign dignitaries and polished diplomatic
2-22 skills that would later prove invaluable when he achieved higher
2-23 office; and
2-24 WHEREAS, Chairman of the Republican National Committee from
2-25 1973 to 1974, he subsequently was appointed chief of the United
3-1 States liaison office in the People's Republic of China, where he
3-2 developed contacts with Beijing officials and played an important
3-3 role in solidifying relations between the two countries; and
3-4 WHEREAS, Following that assignment he served a year as
3-5 director of the Central Intelligence Agency and then, in the fall
3-6 of 1977, began laying plans for the 1980 presidential campaign,
3-7 leading to his nomination as the running mate of Ronald Reagan and
3-8 his election to the vice presidency; and
3-9 WHEREAS, In that office, honing his diplomatic skills, Vice
3-10 President Bush traveled to some 75 nations as America's emissary
3-11 and also chaired a number of presidential task forces as well as
3-12 heading the crisis management team at the National Security
3-13 Council; and
3-14 WHEREAS, Elected president in 1988, he served a momentous
3-15 term occasioned by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of
3-16 Communist rule in Eastern Europe, the restoration of democracy in
3-17 Panama, the dismantlement of apartheid in South Africa, the
3-18 successful orchestration of the allied response to the invasion of
3-19 Kuwait, and the negotiation of a historic agreement to reduce
3-20 nuclear arsenals; and
3-21 WHEREAS, President Bush can be proud of the lifetime of
3-22 contributions he has made to the securing of a more peaceful, just,
3-23 and democratic world, and the citizens of this state, including his
3-24 family and son, the new governor, can be proud of a fellow Texan
3-25 whose career of public service deserves lasting recognition by
4-1 means of a permanent remembrance to be displayed in the halls of
4-2 the Texas Capitol; now, therefore, be it
4-3 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
4-4 hereby request the State Preservation Board to provide for the
4-5 placement in the Texas Capitol of a portrait of President George
4-6 Bush, the selection of a suitable artist for that purpose to be
4-7 reserved to the judgment of President and Mrs. Bush; and, be it
4-8 further
4-9 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
4-10 copy of this resolution to the executive director of the State
4-11 Preservation Board.