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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, With the passing of the Honorable Lloyd Bentsen on |
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May 23, 2006, this state and nation have lost one of the most |
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esteemed and influential American political leaders of recent |
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times; and |
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WHEREAS, Born Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr., in Mission on |
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February 11, 1921, the son of a prominent Hidalgo County family, |
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Senator Bentsen graduated from The University of Texas School of |
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Law in 1942; and |
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WHEREAS, He entered the military as a private that same year |
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and served with valor in the U.S. Army Air Corps; at the age of 23, |
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he was promoted to the rank of major and given command of a squadron |
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of 600 men; shot down twice while flying combat missions in Europe, |
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he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with |
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three Oak Leaf Clusters; and |
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WHEREAS, After returning to the Valley in 1945, Senator |
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Bentsen entered the private practice of law in McAllen; he served as |
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county judge of Hidalgo County from 1946 to 1948, when he was sworn |
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in as the youngest member of the U.S. House of Representatives; |
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during the next six years, he became a protege of Congressman Sam |
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Rayburn, who believed the South Texan might one day accede to the |
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speakership; and |
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WHEREAS, Lloyd Bentsen retired from the house in early 1955, |
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however, and moved his family to Houston, where he began a highly |
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successful career in insurance and finance; he returned to the |
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political arena in 1970, winning the first of four consecutive |
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terms in the U.S. Senate; within just a few years, he gained |
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appointment to the powerful Senate Committee on Finance, which he |
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ultimately chaired, and where he became a forceful proponent of |
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trade expansion and pension reform; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1988, Senator Bentsen ran for the office of vice |
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president on the Democratic ticket, together with presidential |
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nominee Michael Dukakis; although defeated, Senator Bentsen |
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impressed voters and political observers alike with his dignified |
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demeanor and quietly commanding presence, and he emerged from the |
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campaign with a national reputation and his stature even further |
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enhanced; that same year, he won reelection to the senate by the |
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widest margin of his career; and |
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WHEREAS, Senator Bentsen resigned his seat on January 20, |
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1993, to become President Bill Clinton's first secretary of the |
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treasury; in that capacity, he became one of the architects of the |
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president's deficit-reduction program, guided the new |
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administration's first budget through Congress, and played an |
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instrumental role in the passage of two major trade bills, |
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including the North American Free Trade Agreement; and |
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WHEREAS, Following his retirement from the cabinet in 1994, |
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Senator Bentsen returned to Houston, where he helped to create a |
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billion-dollar private investment firm to finance projects in Latin |
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America; he also traveled widely and chaired the advisory committee |
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of the Beacon Group, a New York investment bank; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1999, President Clinton conferred on Lloyd |
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Bentsen the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal |
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of Freedom; two years later, The University of Texas School of Law |
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bestowed on Senator Bentsen a Lifetime Achievement Award and, with |
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an endowment established by his friends, created the Lloyd M. |
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Bentsen Chair in Law; and |
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WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan was married on November 27, |
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1943, to Beryl Ann Longino, a college classmate, with whom he shared |
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a union of more than six decades; and |
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WHEREAS, Renowned for his even temper, self-discipline, and |
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good humor, Senator Bentsen enjoyed the friendship of many members |
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of both parties and excelled at building coalitions to achieve |
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common goals; his service to his country, in both war and peace, is |
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deserving of the deepest appreciation of every American; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Honorable Lloyd |
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Bentsen and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: |
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to his wife, Beryl Ann Longino Bentsen; to his children, Lloyd |
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Bentsen III, Lan Bentsen, and Tina Bentsen Smith; to his |
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grandchildren; and to his other relatives and numerous friends; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of the |
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Honorable Lloyd Bentsen. |