SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 875
	WHEREAS, On February 1, 2003, the crew of the space shuttle 
Columbia perished while reentering Earth's atmosphere, and the 
repercussions of this disaster required a rapid, well-coordinated 
response to keep the horror of this event from being compounded; 
and
	WHEREAS, The tragic loss of the space shuttle and its crew 
resulted in a massive search and recovery effort affecting 40 
counties and involving hundreds of individuals from numerous 
federal, state, and local agencies and organizations, as well as 
the volunteer efforts of countless Texans; and
	WHEREAS, Employees of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation, and the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration played crucial roles in this mammoth undertaking, 
while additional assistance was generously provided by Amateur 
Radio Emergency Services, the Division of Emergency Management, 
the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Army National 
Guard, the Texas Forest Service, the Texas Department of Criminal 
Justice, the Texas Office of the Attorney General, the Texas 
Department of Transportation, and the Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality; and
	WHEREAS, Also contributing to the effort were representatives
of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Animal Health 
Commission, the Texas Department of Health, the Texas Natural 
Resource Information Service, the Texas Water Development Board, 
the Texas Engineering Extension Service, the Railroad Commission 
of Texas, the Texas Department of Human Services, and the Texas 
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation; other 
organizations integral to the search and recovery effort include 
the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Texas Baptist Men, 
The University of Texas, Stephen F. Austin State University, the 
Air Land Emergency Response Team, the Civil Air Patrol, the Sabine 
River Authority, the Texas Education Agency, and county judges and 
sheriffs from throughout the state; and
	WHEREAS, All those involved with these noteworthy agencies 
and organizations are united in the effort to help find the answers 
to why this tragedy occurred, and the members of this chamber wish 
to commend them for their outstanding service in this regard; now, 
therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
78th Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the many individuals who 
participated in the recovery effort of the space shuttle Columbia.
                                                                         Staples




________________________________ 
    President of the Senate
 
    I hereby certify that the 
above Resolution was adopted by 
the Senate on May 14, 2003.



________________________________ 
    Secretary of the Senate



________________________________ 
     Member, Texas Senate