[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 858 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 858
Honoring the life and legacy of the late Constance Benjamin Clery.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 16, 2026
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Cassidy) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and legacy of the late Constance Benjamin Clery.
Whereas Constance Benjamin Clery (referred to in this preamble as ``Connie
Clery'') was born on February 12, 1931, and passed away on June 23,
2026;
Whereas Connie Clery graduated from New Bedford High School in 1949, earned a
degree from Barnard College in 1953, and worked as a tri-lingual
interpreter;
Whereas Connie Clery married Howard K. Clery, Jr. in 1956, starting a
partnership of 51 years until his passing in 2008, and was a devoted
mother to Howard III, Benjamin, and Jeanne;
Whereas, following the tragic murder of her daughter, Jeanne Clery, in 1986,
Connie and Howard Clery transformed their grief into a national
movement, founding the nonprofit organization Security On Campus, Inc.,
now known as Clery Center, in 1987, to make college campuses safer and
protect victims of campus crime;
Whereas, at the time of Jeanne Clery's death, no Federal standard required
institutions of higher education to disclose crimes occurring on their
campuses, and prospective students and their families had no reliable
means of learning about the safety of the campuses they were
considering;
Whereas Connie and Howard Clery helped advance more than 30 State and Federal
laws, notably the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-542; 20 U.S.C. 1001 note), which was signed into law by
President George H.W. Bush on November 8, 1990, and added subsection (f)
to section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f))
(now referred to as the ``Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act'') to require
institutions participating in title IV student financial assistance
programs to disclose campus crime statistics and security policies;
Whereas, in 1992, Connie Clery led efforts to amend the Higher Education Act of
1965 to establish a Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights, and
in 1998, to expand public disclosure, including a daily crime log and a
broader definition of campus;
Whereas Connie Clery remained engaged in subsequent efforts to amend the Higher
Education Act of 1965, including in 2008 to strengthen emergency
notification and missing student procedures, in 2013 to require
disclosure of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and
stalking and to strengthen prevention programs and victim rights, and in
2024 to require the disclosure and research-informed prevention of
hazing;
Whereas Connie Clery was responsible for running the Clery Center until 2003,
and spent nearly 4 decades counseling grieving families, training campus
safety professionals, and insisting that survivors of campus crime be
treated with dignity and compassion; and
Whereas Connie Clery is remembered for her courage, perseverance, compassion,
and commitment to protecting students: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the
announcement of the death of Constance ``Connie'' B. Clery;
(2) honors the life and legacy of Connie Clery and
expresses its deep condolences to her family and loved ones;
and
(3) reaffirms its commitment to the implementation and
enforcement of the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (20 U.S.C.
1092(f)).
<all>