Whereas Theodore Ted
Fulton Stevens, who
began serving in the Senate 9 years after Alaska was admitted to Statehood,
represented the people of the State of Alaska with distinction in the Senate
for over 40 years from 1968 to 2009 and played a significant role in the
transformation of the State of Alaska from an impoverished territory to a
full-fledged State through the assistance he provided in building energy
facilities, hospitals and clinics, roads, docks, airports, water and sewer
facilities, schools, and other community facilities in the State of Alaska,
which earned him recognition as Alaskan of the Century
from the
Alaska Legislature in 2000;
Whereas Ted Stevens distinguished himself as a transport
pilot during World War II in support of the Flying Tigers
of the
United States Army Air Corps, 14th Air Force, earning 2 Distinguished Flying
Crosses and other decorations for his skill and bravery;
Whereas Ted Stevens, after serving as a United States
Attorney in the territory of Alaska, came to Washington, District of Columbia
in 1956 to serve in the Eisenhower Administration in the Department of the
Interior, where he was a leading force in securing the legislation that led to
the admission of Alaska as the 49th State on January 3, 1959, and then as
Solicitor of the Department of the Interior;
Whereas, in 1961, Ted Stevens returned to the State of
Alaska and, in 1964, was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives, where
he was subsequently elected as Speaker pro tempore and majority leader until
his appointment on December 24, 1968, to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused
by the death of Senator E.L. Bartlett;
Whereas Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican
Senator in the history of the Senate, served as President pro tempore of the
Senate from 2003 through 2007 and as President pro tempore emeritus from 2008
to 2009, and over the course of his career in the Senate, Ted Stevens served as
assistant Republican leader, Chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics,
Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration, Chairman of the
Committee on Governmental Affairs, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations,
and Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation;
Whereas Ted Stevens worked tirelessly for the enactment of
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which provided for the conveyance of
approximately 44,000,000 acres of land in the State of Alaska to the Aleut,
Eskimo, and Indian peoples and created Native Corporations to secure the
long-term economic, cultural, and political empowerment of the Native peoples
of the State of Alaska;
Whereas Ted Stevens was a leader in shaping the
communications policies of the United States, as he helped to establish the
spectrum auction policy, negotiated the Telecommunications Act of 1996,
authored the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, and
passionately advocated for the connection of rural America to the rest of the
world and to improve the lives of the people of the United States through the
use of telemedicine and distance learning;
Whereas Ted Stevens was a conservationist who championed
the safe development of the natural resources of the United States, as
illustrated by his authorship of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act,
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which established
the 200-mile exclusive economic zone and led to a reduction in the dominance of
foreign fishing fleets in the fisheries of the United States, the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of
2006, which established conservation measures designed to end overfishing, and
the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act, which provided for the denial
of entry into ports of the United States and the imposition of sanctions on
vessels carrying out large-scale driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic
zone of any nation;
Whereas Ted Stevens was committed to health and fitness in
his personal life and in his legislative accomplishments, as illustrated by his
authorship of the Ted Stevens Amateur and Olympic Sports Act, his encouragement
of providing equality to female athletes through the enactment of title IX of
the Education Amendments of 1972, and his leadership in improving physical
education programs in schools through the Carol M. White Physical Education
Program;
Whereas Ted Stevens unconditionally supported the needs of
the Armed Forces of the United States through visits to soldiers, sailors,
airmen, marines, and Coast Guardsmen in every major military conflict and war
zone where United States military personnel have been assigned during his
service in the Senate, including Vietnam, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and
Afghanistan, and in his role as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee
on Defense Appropriations for more than 20 years;
Whereas Ted Stevens was a devoted husband, father, and
grandfather who worked to promote family-friendly policies in the Federal
government; and
Whereas Ted Stevens was well respected for reaching across
the aisle to forge bipartisan alliances and enjoyed many close friendships with
colleagues in both political parties and with his staff, who were deeply loyal
to him: Now, therefore, be it
That—
(1)the Senate has
heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the
Honorable Theodore Ted
Fulton Stevens, former member of the
Senate;
(2)the Secretary of
the Senate communicate this resolution to the House of Representatives and
transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of the deceased;
and
(3)when the Senate
adjourns today, the Senate stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the
memory of the Honorable Theodore Ted
Fulton Stevens.