III 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 161 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 7, 2005 Mr. Feingold (for himself and Mr. Kohl) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Honoring the life of Robert M. La Follette, Sr., on the sesquicentennial of his birth.

Whereas Robert M. La Follette, Sr., better known as Fighting Bob La Follette, was born 150 years ago, on June 14, 1855, in Primrose, Wisconsin; Whereas Fighting Bob was elected to 3 terms in the United States House of Representatives, 3 terms as Governor of Wisconsin, and 4 terms as a United States Senator; Whereas Fighting Bob founded the Progressive wing of the Republican Party; Whereas Fighting Bob was a lifelong supporter of civil rights and women’s suffrage, earning respect and support from such distinguished Americans as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman Upton; Whereas Fighting Bob helped to make the Wisconsin Idea a reality at the Federal and State level, instituting election reforms, environmental conservation, railroad rate regulation, increased education funding, and business regulation; Whereas Fighting Bob was a principal advocate for the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which calls for the election of United States Senators by popular vote; Whereas Fighting Bob delivered an historic speech, “Free Speech in Wartime”, opposing the public persecution of those who sought to hold their Government accountable; Whereas Fighting Bob played a key role in exposing the corruption during the Teapot Dome Scandal; Whereas Fighting Bob and his wife, Belle Case La Follette, founded La Follette’s Weekly, now renamed The Progressive, a monthly magazine for the Progressive community; Whereas Fighting Bob ran for the presidency on the Progressive ticket in 1924, winning more than 17 percent of the popular vote; Whereas the Library of Congress recognized Fighting Bob in 1985 by naming the Congressional Research Service reading room in the Madison Building in honor of both Robert M. La Follette, Sr., and his son, Robert M. La Follette, Jr., for their shared commitment to the development of a legislative research service to support the United States Congress; Whereas Fighting Bob was honored in 1929 with 1 of 2 statues representing the State of Wisconsin in National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol; Whereas Fighting Bob was chosen as 1 of Five Outstanding Senators by the Special Committee on the Senate Reception Room in 1957; Whereas a portrait of Fighting Bob was unveiled in the Senate Reception Room in March 1959; and Whereas Fighting Bob was revered by his supporters for his unwavering commitment to his ideals, and for his tenacious pursuit of a more just and accountable Government: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)celebrates the sesquicentennial of the birth of Robert M. La Follette, Sr.; (2)recognizes the important contributions of Robert M. La Follette, Sr., to the Progressive movement, the State of Wisconsin, and the United States of America; and (3)directs that the Secretary of the Senate transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of Robert M. La Follette, Sr., and the Wisconsin Historical Society.