[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 472 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 472
Honoring Dr. James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense, Secretary
of Energy, and Director of Central Intelligence.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 11, 2014
Mr. Sessions (for himself, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Reed,
Mr. McCain, Mrs. Fischer, and Mr. Leahy) submitted the following
resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring Dr. James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense, Secretary
of Energy, and Director of Central Intelligence.
Whereas the Honorable Dr. James Rodney Schlesinger was born in New York City,
New York, on February 15, 1929, and died in Baltimore, Maryland, on
March 27, 2014, at the age of 85;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger married Rachel Line Mellinger in 1954 and remained her
devoted husband until her death in 1995;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger is survived by his 8 children, Cora Schlesinger, Charles
Schlesinger, Ann Schlesinger, William Schlesinger, Emily Schlesinger,
Thomas Schlesinger, Clara Schlesinger, and James Schlesinger, Jr., and
11 grandchildren;
Whereas, in 1950, Dr. Schlesinger graduated summa cum laude from Harvard
University, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa and awarded the
Frederick Sheldon Travel Fellowship;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger subsequently earned master's and doctoral degrees in
economics from Harvard University;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger was a generous patron of the arts, and was instrumental
in establishing the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center
in Alexandria, Virginia;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger was a generous sponsor of higher education, serving on
the International Council at the Belfer Center for Science and
International Affairs of Harvard University, endowing the Julius
Schlesinger Professorship of Operations Management at New York
University Stern School of Business and the James R. Schlesinger
Distinguished Professorship at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at
the University of Virginia, and sponsoring an ongoing music scholarship
at Harvard College in honor of his beloved wife;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger was a distinguished statesman-scholar of great
integrity, intellect, and insight who dedicated his life to protecting
the security and liberty of the United States and the people of the
United States throughout a highly-decorated and distinguished career
that spanned 7 decades;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger's intellectual contributions to the fields of economics
and national security include serving as professor of economics at the
University of Virginia from 1955 until 1963, serving at the RAND
Corporation from 1963 until 1969, including a term as the director of
strategic studies, and authoring numerous important scholarly
publications, such as The Political Economy of National Security: A
Study of the Economic Aspect of the Contemporary Power Struggle (1960),
Defense Planning and Budgeting: The Issue of Centralized Control (1968),
American Security and Energy Policy (1980), America at Century's End
(1989), and, most recently, Minimum Deterrence: Examining the Evidence
(2013);
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger's service in the Federal Government began in 1969, when
he took a lead role on defense matters as the assistant director and
acting deputy director of the United States Bureau of the Budget;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger served as a member and chairman of the Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC) from 1971 until 1973, working tirelessly to implement
extensive organizational and management changes to strengthen the
regulatory performance of the Commission;
Whereas, as Director of Central Intelligence in 1973, Dr. Schlesinger focused on
the agency's adherence to its legislative charter;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger was confirmed as the Secretary of Defense in 1973 at age
44, a position he held until 1975;
Whereas, during his tenure as Secretary of Defense, Dr. Schlesinger contributed
to the national security of the United States by authoring the
``Schlesinger Doctrine'', which instituted important reforms
strengthening the flexibility and credibility of the United States
nuclear deterrent to prevent war, reassure the allies of the United
States, and protect the liberties of all people of the United States,
and by taking action, including overseeing the successful development of
the A-10 close-air support aircraft and the F-16 fighter aircraft, to
ensure that the United States maintained ``essential equivalence'' with
the Soviet Union's conventional military forces and surging nuclear
capabilities;
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger was highly regarded by the uniformed services, and led
the Department of Defense with great skill and prescience through
numerous challenges, including the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which he was
key to the United States airlift that, according to Israeli Prime
Minister Golda Meir, ``meant life for our people'', the 1974 Cyprus
Crisis, the closing phase of the Indochina conflict, and the 1975
Mayaguez incident, in which his actions helped save the lives of United
States citizens held by the Khmer Rouge, the withdrawal of the United
States Armed Forces from Vietnam, and cuts to the budget of the
Department of Defense;
Whereas, in light of his realistic views of the power and intentions of the
Soviet Union, Dr. Schlesinger was invited to China as a private citizen
in 1975 at the personal request of Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese
Communist Party, and upon Mao's death, was the only foreigner invited by
the Chinese leadership to lay a wreath at Mao's bier;
Whereas, in 1976, during a difficult period of oil embargoes and fuel shortages,
President-elect Jimmy Carter invited Dr. Schlesinger to serve as his
special advisor on energy to establish a national energy policy and
create the charter for the Department of Energy;
Whereas President Carter appointed Dr. Schlesinger as the first Secretary of
Energy in 1977, and in this role Dr. Schlesinger successfully initiated
new conservation standards, the gradual deregulation of oil and natural
gas industries, and the unification of United States policies with
respect to energy and national security;
Whereas following his return to private life in 1979, Dr. Schlesinger continued
to work tirelessly in a wide array of public service and civic
positions, including as a member of President Ronald Reagan's Commission
on Strategic Forces, a member of Virginia Governor Charles Robb's
Commission on Virginia's Future, chairman of the board of trustees for
the Mitre Corporation, a member of the Defense Policy Board and co-chair
of studies for the Defense Science Board, chairman of the National
Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Board, a director
of the Sandia National Corporation, a trustee of the Atlantic Council, a
trustee of the Nixon Center, a trustee of the Henry M. Jackson
Foundation, and an original member of the Secretary of State's
International Security Advisory Board;
Whereas, in the recent past, Dr. Schlesinger was appointed by President George
W. Bush to the Homeland Security Advisory Board, invited by Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates to lead the Schlesinger Task Force to recommend
measures to ensure the highest levels of competence and control of the
nuclear forces of the United States, and invited by Congress to serve as
the Vice Chairman of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic
Posture of the United States, which produced the 2009 study ``America's
Strategic Posture'' that served as the blueprint for the 2010 Nuclear
Posture Review of the Department of Defense;
Whereas in addition to Dr. Schlesinger's earned doctorate from Harvard
University, he was awarded 13 honorary doctorates, and was the recipient
of numerous prestigious medals and awards, including the National
Security Medal (presented by President Carter), the Defense Science
Board's Eugene G. Fubini Award, the United States Army Association's
George Catlett Marshall Medal, the Air Force Association's H. H. Arnold
Award, the Navy League's National Meritorious Citation, the Society of
Experimental Test Pilots' James H. Doolittle Award, the Military Order
of World Wars' Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Association's
Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation's Henry
M. Jackson Award for Distinguished Public Service; and
Whereas Dr. Schlesinger's monumental contributions to the security and liberty
of the United States and Western civilization, and to the betterment of
his local community, should serve as an example to all people of the
United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the
announcement of the death of the Honorable Dr. James R.
Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Energy,
and Director of Central Intelligence;
(2) honors the legacy of Dr. Schlesinger's commitment to
the liberty and security of the United States and Western
civilization, the betterment of his local community, and his
loving family;
(3) extends its deepest condolences and sympathy to the
family, friends, and colleagues of Dr. Schlesinger who have
lost a beloved father, grandfather, and leader;
(4) honors Dr. Schlesinger's wisdom, discernment,
scholarship, and dedication to public service that greatly
benefited his community, country, and Western civilization;
(5) recognizes with great appreciation that, while serving
as a public servant under President Nixon, President Ford, and
President Carter, Dr. Schlesinger contributed significantly,
thoughtfully, and directly to the betterment of the policies
and practices of the United States in the areas of national
defense, energy, and intelligence;
(6) recognizes with great appreciation that, after
returning to private life, Dr. Schlesinger continued to serve
the United States selflessly through bipartisan contributions
to the reasoned public discourse of issues and his leadership
on high-level studies sponsored by the Executive, the
Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the
Congress;
(7) recognizes with great appreciation Dr. Schlesinger's
exemplary life, which was guided by his commitment to the
continuing security and liberty of the United States, and by
his honor, duty, and devotion to country, family, scholarship,
and personal moral integrity;
(8) expresses profound respect and admiration for Dr.
Schlesinger and his extraordinary legacy of commitment to the
people of the United States, United States military personnel,
and all those who help safeguard the Nation; and
(9) directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit an
enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of the Honorable
Dr. James R. Schlesinger.
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