[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 84 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 84

   Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the naming of aircraft 
  carrier CVN-77, the last vessel of the historic ``NIMITZ'' class of 
              aircraft carriers, as the U.S.S. Lexington.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 24, 2000

    Mr. Warner (for himself and Mr. Inouye) submitted the following 
  concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the naming of aircraft 
  carrier CVN-77, the last vessel of the historic ``NIMITZ'' class of 
              aircraft carriers, as the U.S.S. Lexington.

Whereas over the last three decades Congress has authorized and appropriated 
        funds for a total of 10 ``NIMITZ'' class aircraft carriers;
Whereas the last vessel in the ``NIMITZ'' class of aircraft carriers, CVN-77, is 
        currently under construction and will be delivered in 2008;
Whereas the first nine vessels in this class proudly bear the following names:
            (1) U.S.S. Nimitz (CVN-68).
            (2) U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69).
            (3) U.S.S. Carl Vinson (CVN-70).
            (4) U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).
            (5) U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).
            (6) U.S.S. George Washington (CVN-73).
            (7) U.S.S. John C. Stennis (CVN-74).
            (8) U.S.S. Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).
            (9) U.S.S. Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).
Whereas it is now time to recommend to the President, as Commander in Chief of 
        the Armed Forces, an appropriate name for the final vessel in the 
        ``NIMITZ'' class of aircraft carriers;
Whereas over the last 25 years the vessels in the ``NIMITZ'' class of aircraft 
        carriers have served as one of the principal means of United States 
        diplomacy and as one of the principal means for the defense of the 
        United States and our allies around the world;
Whereas the name bestowed upon aircraft carrier CVN-77 should embody the 
        American spirit and provide a lasting symbol of the American commitment 
        to freedom;
Whereas for the citizens of the United States, the name ``Lexington'' has been 
        synonymous with defense of freedom from the very first battle of the War 
        of the American Revolution and is taught to American schoolchildren as 
        the place of the ``shot heard round the world'', at which our forebears 
        mustered the courage to gain independence;
Whereas the name ``Lexington'' has been associated with naval aviation from its 
        origins in the 1920s, when President Harding bestowed the name 
        ``Lexington'' on the second aircraft carrier in United States history;
Whereas that vessel, the U.S.S. Lexington (CV-2), also known as the ``Fighting 
        Lady'', saw active service from 1927 until lost in 1942 during the 
        historic Battle of the Coral Sea;
Whereas immediately after that loss, President Franklin D. Roosevelt saw fit to 
        bestow the name ``Lexington'' on a successor aircraft carrier in order 
        to carry on the fighting spirit to preserve freedom;
Whereas that successor aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Lexington (CV-16), joined 
        the fleet in 1943 and earned 11 battle stars during the Pacific 
        campaigns of World War II as she helped carry the fight to the enemy;
Whereas the U.S.S. Lexington (CV-16) continued her service to the United States 
        after World War II, conducting numerous deployments during the Cold War 
        and completing her 48 years of service as a training aircraft carrier 
        for student aviators; and
Whereas upon the completion of her service and in keeping with the traditions of 
        the Navy, the U.S.S. Lexington (CV-16) was stricken from the Navy Vessel 
        Register on November 30, 1991: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that the aircraft carrier CVN-77 
should be named the U.S.S. Lexington--
            (1) in order to honor the men and women who served in the 
        Armed Forces of the United States during World War II, and the 
        incalculable number of United States citizens on the home front 
        during that war, who mobilized in the name of freedom, and who 
        are today respectfully referred to as the ``Greatest 
        Generation''; and
            (2) as a special tribute to the 16,000,000 veterans of the 
        Armed Forces who served on land, sea, and air during World War 
        II, of whom less than 6,000,000 remain alive today, and serve 
        as a lasting symbol of commitment to freedom as they pass on 
        and proudly take their place in history.
                                 <all>