[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 555 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 555

   To commemorate the life and accomplishments of Whitney Elizabeth 
 Houston over the past 48 years; and expressing the condolences of the 
         House of Representatives to her family upon her death.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2012

  Mr. Payne (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Ms. 
  Richardson, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Davis of 
 Illinois, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Cummings, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Rangel, 
 Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Rush, Ms. Brown 
  of Florida, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Eddie 
 Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Cleaver, and Ms. Waters) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                           and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   To commemorate the life and accomplishments of Whitney Elizabeth 
 Houston over the past 48 years; and expressing the condolences of the 
         House of Representatives to her family upon her death.

Whereas Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New 
        Jersey;
Whereas Whitney Houston was the youngest daughter of famed singer Cissy Houston 
        and John Russell Houston Jr., cousin of Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick, and 
        god-daughter of Aretha Franklin;
Whereas Whitney Houston began following in her mother's footsteps at the age of 
        11 by performing at her church, New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New 
        Jersey, and a short time later began performing in shows alongside her 
        mother in New York City in the 1970s and early 1980s;
Whereas, as a teenager, Ms. Houston earned album credits for vocals with the 
        Michael Zager Band, Chaka Khan, Lou Rawls, Herbie Mann, the Neville 
        Brothers, Bill Lawswell's Material, Jermaine Jackson, and various other 
        artists;
Whereas Ms. Houston began modeling in the 1980s and became the first woman of 
        color to grace the cover of Seventeen Magazine;
Whereas, as an accomplished model, Ms. Houston's striking good looks and girl-
        next-door charm lead her to be a sought after model and featured in 
        multiple layouts, including Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Young Miss;
Whereas upon seeing Ms. Houston perform in 1983, Arista Records founder and 
        president, Clive Davis immediately signed her and, within a year after 
        being signed, Ms. Houston had her first top-5 R&B hit with Teddy 
        Pendergrass, titled ``Hold Me'';
Whereas Ms. Houston's debut album, ``Whitney Houston'', was released in 1985, 
        was certified 13-times platinum (diamond) in the United States, and sold 
        25,000,000 copies worldwide;
Whereas Ms. Houston's debut album earned her many distinctions, including 
        biggest selling debut album by a solo artist, first female artist to 
        debut an album with three Number One hits, first female Artist to be 
        ``Artist of the Year'' and ``Album of the Year'' on Billboard charts, 
        and first African-American female artist to have consistent and heavy 
        rotation on MTV;
Whereas this early success and acceptance opened many doors for other African-
        American women vocal artists;
Whereas Ms. Houston's second album, ``Whitney'', was released in 1987 and 
        debuted at Number One on the Billboard album chart, marked the first 
        time in music history that a female artist debuted at Number One in both 
        the United States and the United Kingdom, gave her seven consecutive 
        Number One hits, which broke the record held by the Beatles and The Bee 
        Gees, made her the first female artist to generate four Number One hits 
        from one album, was certified nine-times platinum, and sold 20,000,000 
        copies worldwide;
Whereas Ms. Houston's third album, ``I'm Your Baby Tonight,'' was release in 
        1990, earned Ms. Houston back-to-back Number One hits, peaked at number 
        three on the Billboard album charts, and was certified four-times 
        platinum and sold 8,000,000 copies worldwide;
Whereas Ms. Houston delivered the most stunning performance of the National 
        Anthem before the 1991 Super Bowl, and more than 20 years later, her 
        performance is not only one of the most spectacular moments in American 
        sports history, but is also the gold standard for all Super Bowl 
        performances;
Whereas, in 1992, Ms. Houston made her movie debut in ``The Bodyguard'' with 
        Oscar-winning actor and director Kevin Costner and not only did the film 
        break box office records worldwide, but the soundtrack album, which 
        featured six Whitney Houston songs, was the biggest selling motion 
        picture soundtrack of all time and voted Grammy-winning ``Album of the 
        Year''; the soundtrack was certified 17-times platinum and sold more 
        than 42,000,000 copies worldwide;
Whereas Ms. Houston continued to be a successful actress with roles in ``Waiting 
        to Exhale'', ``The Preacher's Wife'', Rodgers and Hammerstein's 
        ``Cinderella'' and Ms. Houston's success as a songstress continued with 
        vocals on each soundtrack leading them to similar sales accomplishments 
        as her solo albums;
Whereas, upon the release of ``The Preacher's Wife'' soundtrack, Ms. Houston 
        accomplished a lifelong dream with the gospel-filled soundtrack, on 
        which Ms. Houston sang lead vocals on 14 of the 15 songs and which 
        became the biggest selling gospel album in Billboard chart history and 
        was certified three-times platinum;
Whereas, after an eight-year absence, Ms. Houston released her fourth studio 
        album, ``My Love Is Your Love'', in 1998 and the album had a string of 
        gold and platinum chart hit singles worldwide and featured vocals from 
        her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown;
Whereas, as Ms. Houston celebrated her 15th anniversary as an Arista recording 
        artist, she released ``Whitney: the Greatest Hits'' in 2000 and the 
        album was certified three-times platinum and had worldwide sales of 
        10,000,000;
Whereas Ms. Houston released her last studio album, ``I Look to You'', in 2009, 
        and the album entered the Billboard album chart at Number One, Ms. 
        Houston's best opening week sales, and has been certified platinum;
Whereas Ms. Houston had sales of more than 170,000,000 combined album, singles, 
        and videos worldwide during her career with Arista Records;
Whereas Ms. Houston has established the benchmark for stardom and has been named 
        music's most awarded female artist of all time, with an amazing tally of 
        411 awards (as of 2006) a tally that is certainly topped by her two Emmy 
        Awards, six Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, and 23 American 
        Music Awards, as well as MTV Video Music Awards in the United States and 
        Europe, NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, Soul 
        Train's prestigious Quincy Jones Career Achievement Award in 1998, and 
        her induction into the Black Entertainment Television Walk Of Fame in 
        1996;
Whereas Ms. Houston has won a worldwide following by reachng deep within her 
        soul and finding common threads with her millions of fans;
Whereas Ms. Houston not only had the voice of an angel but a heart of gold, Ms. 
        Houston's humanitarian efforts are as impressive as her accolades;
Whereas Ms. Houston raised funds for numerous causes, including children around 
        the world, from South Africa to Newark, generating more than $300,000 
        for the Children's Defense Fund as a result of a 1997 HBO concert;
Whereas Ms. Houston supported Nelson Mandela and the antiapartheid movement, and 
        while a model refused to work with any agencies that did business with 
        the then-apartheid South Africa;
Whereas Ms. Houston participated in a benefit concert that raised over 
        $1,000,000 for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid;
Whereas Ms. Houston worked tirelessly for St. Jude Children's Hospital, the 
        United Negro College Fund, and the Children's Diabetes Foundation;
Whereas Ms. Houston founded the Whitney Houston Foundation for the Children, 
        which cares for such problems as homelessness, children with cancer and 
        AIDS, and issues of self-empowerment;
Whereas Ms. Houston's foundation was awarded a VH1 honor for its charitable 
        work;
Whereas Ms. Houston founded the Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative and 
        Performing Arts to provide expanded arts-focused educational 
        opportunities for its student body and the surrounding community;
Whereas Ms. Houston served as a spokesperson for a youth leadership conference;
Whereas, out of the generosity of her heart, Ms. Houston donated her portion of 
        the proceeds from the release of the National Anthem as a single to the 
        American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund and therefore was named to the 
        American Red Cross Board of Governors;
Whereas Ms. Houston supported, performed, and visited many of our service men 
        and women fighting in the Persian Gulf War;
Whereas The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, Inc. agreed to donate 
        royalties and net proceeds from all single sales of ``The Star Spangled 
        Banner'' together with ``America the Beautiful'' to the New York 
        Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order 
        of Police; and
Whereas Ms. Houston was a world-class entertainer and humanitarian: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes Ms. Whitney Houston as a world icon and a 
        once-in-a-lifetime talent;
            (2) honors Ms. Whitney Houston for her charitable efforts; 
        and
            (3) extends the deepest condolences of the House of 
        Representatives to the family of Ms. Whitney Houston.
                                 <all>