[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 660 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 660

 Honoring and commemorating the life and legacy of Representative John 
                                 Lewis.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 2020

Mr. Perdue (for himself, Mrs. Loeffler, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
 Alexander, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. 
 Blumenthal, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Booker, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Braun, Mr. Brown, 
Mr. Burr, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, 
Mr. Cassidy, Ms. Collins, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. 
Cotton, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Enzi, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Gardner, 
Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Ms. Harris, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
  Hawley, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. 
 Inhofe, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Jones, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. King, Ms. 
 Klobuchar, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lee, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Markey, 
 Ms. McSally, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Moran, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. 
 Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Paul, Mr. Peters, Mr. Portman, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
 Risch, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Romney, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
  Sanders, Mr. Sasse, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Scott of 
 South Carolina, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Shelby, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Smith, Ms. 
Stabenow, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Toomey, 
Mr. Udall, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. 
 Wicker, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Young) submitted the following resolution; 
                   which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring and commemorating the life and legacy of Representative John 
                                 Lewis.

Whereas the Senate mourns the loss of John Lewis, a titan in the struggle for 
        civil rights and equality for all races, and commemorates his life and 
        accomplishments;
Whereas John Lewis was born during the era of Jim Crow in a segregated community 
        in which racism and discrimination ran rampant;
Whereas John Lewis's moral clarity and unwavering commitment to nonviolence made 
        his first passions preaching and ministry;
Whereas John Lewis fought his first battle against segregation when he was just 
        a teenager, authoring a petition for equal access to his local public 
        library, where African Americans had paid for the construction of the 
        facilities but were banned from checking out books;
Whereas, before his 21st birthday, John Lewis established his commitment to 
        ``good trouble'' by organizing sit-ins at segregated restaurants and 
        theaters;
Whereas John Lewis helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 
        which advocated for civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance against 
        segregation across the United States, bringing him to the forefront of 
        the struggle of the United States for civil rights;
Whereas John Lewis participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides, which were a series 
        of trips that tested a new desegregation order of interstate 
        transportation facilities and resulted in multiple beatings and the 
        firebombing of the bus that John Lewis was supposed to be riding;
Whereas, at 23 years of age, John Lewis served as the youngest member of the 
        ``Big Six'', which planned the 1963 March on Washington, and worked 
        alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, A. Philip Randolph, Roy 
        Wilkins, and Whitney Young to advocate for racial equality and justice 
        for all;
Whereas John Lewis courageously led protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge 
        in Selma, Alabama, bravely bearing violence from the police to embody 
        the struggle of the United States to live up to its founding ideals of 
        equal justice under the law;
Whereas the bravery of John Lewis during ``Bloody Sunday'' led Congress to pass, 
        and President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign into law, the Voting Rights Act 
        of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), ensuring that African Americans have 
        the right to fully participate in the democratic process in the United 
        States;
Whereas John Lewis faithfully served the city of Atlanta between 1977 and 1981, 
        embodying his election night promise to ``bring a sense of ethics and 
        moral courage'' to the Atlanta City Council;
Whereas John Lewis faithfully served the 5th congressional district of Georgia 
        in the House of Representatives between 1987 and 2020, serving as the 
        ``conscience of the Congress'' by continuing his pursuit of justice and 
        truth in the capital of the United States; and
Whereas the Senate commends John Lewis for his life and for embodying the spirit 
        of love and dignity through his unceasing advocacy for reconciliation, 
        justice, and the equality of all mankind: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Senate--
                    (A) has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret 
                the announcement of the death of the Honorable John 
                Lewis, a late Member of the House of Representatives; 
                and
                    (B) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the 
                Senate--
                            (i) communicate this resolution to the 
                        House of Representatives; and
                            (ii) transmit an enrolled copy of this 
                        resolution to the family of John Lewis; and
            (2) when the Senate adjourns today, it stand adjourned as a 
        further mark of respect to the memory of the Honorable John 
        Lewis.
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