[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 518 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 518

 Honoring the life of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, explorer, researcher, and 
              pioneer in the field of marine conservation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 2009

 Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mrs. Capps, Ms. Bordallo, Ms. Hirono, 
   Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Baird, Mr. Holden, and Mr. Pallone) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the life of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, explorer, researcher, and 
              pioneer in the field of marine conservation.

Whereas Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born on June 11, 1910, in Saint-Andre-de-
        Cubzac, France, to Daniel and Elizabeth Cousteau;
Whereas Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1930, after having made his preparatory studies 
        at the College Stanislas in Paris, entered the Naval Academy in Brest 
        and became an officer gunner;
Whereas after serving in the French Army during World War II, he was decorated 
        with the Legion of Honor, France's highest honor;
Whereas in 1950, Jacques-Yves Cousteau founded the French Oceanographic 
        Campaigns (COF), and he leased a ship called Calypso and equipped her as 
        a mobile laboratory for field research and as a support base for diving 
        and filming where he traversed the most interesting seas of the planet 
        as well as big and small rivers;
Whereas from 1952 to 1953, Jacques-Yves Cousteau took the Calypso to the Red Sea 
        and shot the first color footage ever taken at a depth of 150 feet, for 
        a documentary titled ``The Silent World'';
Whereas ``The Silent World'' was filmed using ground-breaking skin-diving gear 
        that Cousteau invented with engineer Emile Gagnan in 1943, freeing 
        divers from heavy helmets and allowing them to be free and weightless as 
        if in space;
Whereas in 1956, ``The Silent World'' won the top award at the Cannes Film 
        Festival and the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in the 
        United States;
Whereas in 1973, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, with his two sons Jean-Michel and 
        Philippe, and Frederick Hyman, created the Cousteau Society for the 
        Protection of Ocean Life, today boasting a membership of over 360,000 
        people;
Whereas in 1977, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Peter Scott were awarded the United 
        Nations International Environment prize for outstanding contributions in 
        environmental advocacy;
Whereas in 1977, the ``Cousteau Odyssey'' series premiered on PBS, and seven 
        years later, the ``Cousteau Amazon'' series made its television 
        premiere;
Whereas in 1985, in honor of his achievements, Jacques-Yves Cousteau received 
        the Grand Croix dans l'Ordre National du Merite from the French 
        government and the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom from 
        President Ronald Reagan;
Whereas throughout all of his voyages, Jacques-Yves Cousteau produced over 120 
        films and authored or contributed to roughly 50 books; and
Whereas Jacques-Yves Cousteau passed away in Paris on June 25, 1997, after 
        spending a lifetime of 87 years inventing, exploring, and storytelling: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the life, 
achievements, and distinguished career of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, 
explorer, researcher, and pioneer in the field of marine conservation.
                                 <all>