[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 116 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 116

 Commemorating the life, achievements, and contributions of Al Lerner.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 9, 2003

   Mr. DeWine (for himself and Mr. Voinovich) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Commemorating the life, achievements, and contributions of Al Lerner.

Whereas Alfred Lerner (``Al'' to those who knew him best) was a successful, 
        humble, compassionate, and well respected member of his family and 
        community whose life was devoted to civic involvement and efforts to 
        improve the quality of education and health care available to his fellow 
        citizens;
Whereas Al Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1933, graduated from 
        Brooklyn Technical High School in 1951, and received a B.A. from 
        Columbia College in 1955;
Whereas Al Lerner was a Marine Corps officer and pilot from 1955 through 1957, 
        displaying his love of country by wearing his Marine Corps cap long 
        after finishing his tour of duty, and later was a director of the Marine 
        Corps Law Enforcement Foundation;
Whereas Al Lerner was the son of Russian immigrants, and in 2002 received the 
        Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which celebrates immigrant heritage and 
        individual achievements;
Whereas Al Lerner and his high school sweetheart, best friend, and partner in 
        life, Norma Lerner, shared 47 years of marriage and were deeply 
        committed to their 2 children, Randy and Nancy;
Whereas Al and Norma Lerner made extremely generous contributions to local and 
        national charities, including a contribution of $10,000,000 in 1993 to 
        Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, a donation of 
        $16,000,000 to support construction of the Lerner Research Institute, 
        and a donation of $100,000,000 to the Cleveland Clinic--one of the 
        largest donations to academic medicine in the history of the United 
        States;
Whereas Al Lerner served as president and trustee of the Cleveland Clinic 
        Foundation where the Lerner Research Institute was established to 
        conduct research of new treatments for cancer, coronary artery disease, 
        and AIDS;
Whereas Al Lerner, along with his business partner Carmen Policy, reestablished 
        a National Football League team in Northern Ohio when he purchased the 
        expansion Cleveland Browns football organization in 1998, worked hard to 
        make the people of Cleveland and Northern Ohio proud of their football 
        team, and was subsequently appointed chairman of the National Football 
        League Finance Committee;
Whereas the Cleveland Browns, on the strength of Al Lerner's leadership, reached 
        the National Football League playoffs following the 2002 season, only 4 
        years after returning to the league;
Whereas Al Lerner served as founder, chairman, and chief executive of MBNA 
        Corporation, which employs thousands of people in Ohio and is the 
        Nation's largest issuer of independent credit cards;
Whereas Al Lerner served as vice chairman, trustee, and benefactor of Columbia 
        College, which is now known as Columbia University, and also served as a 
        trustee for Case Western Reserve University and New York Presbyterian 
        Hospital;
Whereas Al Lerner helped raise funds, through his affiliation with MBNA and the 
        Cleveland Browns, for the ``Cleveland Browns Hero Fund'' to aid families 
        from the New York City Fire and Police Departments who suffered the loss 
        of a parent in the tragic September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks;
Whereas Al Lerner was appointed in 2001 by President Bush as 1 of 15 members of 
        the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which advises the 
        President concerning the quality and adequacy of intelligence 
        collection, intelligence analysis and estimates, counter-intelligence, 
        and other intelligence activities;
Whereas Al Lerner is survived by his wife, partner, and best friend, Norma, 
        their son Randy, their daughter Nancy, and 7 grandchildren; and
Whereas Al Lerner passed away on October 23, 2002, and the contributions he made 
        to his family, his community, and his Nation will not be forgotten: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the life, achievements, and contributions of 
        Alfred Lerner; and
            (2) extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Alfred 
        Lerner for the loss of a great and generous man.
                                 <all>