[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 95 (Monday, July 12, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7940-S7941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 403--ENCOURAGING INCREASED INVOLVEMENT IN SERVICE 
                  ACTIVITIES TO ASSIST SENIOR CITIZENS

  Mr. BAYH submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 403

       Whereas approximately 13,000,000 individuals in the United 
     States have serious long-term health conditions that may 
     force them to seek assistance with daily tasks;
       Whereas 56 percent of the individuals in the United States 
     with serious long-term health conditions are age 65 or older;
       Whereas the percentage of the population over the age of 65 
     is expected to rise from 13 percent in 2004 to 20 percent in 
     2020;
       Whereas 15 percent of all seniors over the age of 65 suffer 
     from depression;
       Whereas studies have suggested that 25 to 50 percent of 
     nursing home residents are affected by depression;
       Whereas approximately 1,450,000 people live in nursing 
     homes in the United States;
       Whereas by 2018 there will be 3,600,000 seniors in need of 
     a nursing home bed, which will be an increase of more than 
     2,000,000 from 2004;
       Whereas as many as 60 percent of nursing home residents do 
     not have regular visitors;
       Whereas older patients with significant symptoms of 
     depression have significantly higher health care costs than 
     seniors who are not depressed;
       Whereas people who are depressed tend to be withdrawn from 
     their community, friends, and family;
       Whereas the Corporation for National and Community Service 
     (CNS) Senior Corps programs currently provide seniors with 
     the opportunity to serve their communities through the 
     Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, Foster Grandparent 
     Program, and Senior Companion Program;
       Whereas through the Senior Companion Program in particular, 
     in the 2002 to 2003 program year, more than 17,000 low-income 
     seniors volunteered their time assisting 61,000 frail elderly 
     and homebound individuals who have difficulty completing 
     daily tasks;
       Whereas numerous volunteer organizations across the United 
     States enable Americans of all ages to participate in similar 
     activities;
       Whereas Faith in Action, 1 volunteer organization, brings 
     together 40,000 volunteers of many faiths to serve 60,000 
     people with long-term health needs or disabilities across the 
     country, 64 percent of whom are 65 years of age or older;
       Whereas the thousands of volunteers that, through the 
     Senior Companion Program and volunteer organizations 
     nationwide, provide companionship and assistance to frail 
     elderly individuals, nursing home residents, and homebound 
     seniors, deserve to be commended for their work;
       Whereas the demand for these services outstrips the number 
     of volunteers, and organizations are seeking to enlist more 
     individuals in the United States in the volunteer effort;
       Whereas companionship and assistance programs for seniors 
     with long-term health needs offer many demonstrated benefits, 
     such as: allowing frail elderly individuals to remain in 
     their homes; enabling seniors to maintain independence for as 
     long as possible; providing encouragement and friendship to 
     lonely seniors; and providing relief to home care givers;
       Whereas regular visitation and assistance is the best way 
     of assuring seniors that they have not been forgotten, and 
     State and local recognition of regular visitation programs 
     can call further attention to the importance of volunteering 
     on an ongoing basis; and
       Whereas a month dedicated to service for seniors and 
     recognized across the United States will call attention to 
     volunteer organizations serving seniors and provide a 
     platform for recruitment efforts: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the month of August as ``Service for Seniors 
     Month'';
       (2) recognizes the need for companionship and assistance 
     with daily tasks among seniors with long-term health 
     conditions throughout the year, and encourages the people of 
     the United States to volunteer regularly at a nursing home or 
     long-term care facility;
       (3) encourages volunteer organizations that offer 
     companionship and assistance to seniors to incorporate 
     ``Service for Seniors Month'' in their recruitment efforts;
       (4) encourages individuals in the United States to 
     volunteer in these service organizations in order to give 
     back to a generation that sacrificed so much; and
       (5) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States and interested 
     groups to observe ``Service for Seniors Month'' with 
     appropriate ceremonies and activities that promote awareness 
     of, and volunteer involvement service for, seniors with long-
     term health needs.
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 123--RECOGNIZING AND HONORING THE LIFE AND 
 LEGACY OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON ON THE BICENTENNIAL OF HIS DEATH BECAUSE 
OF HIS STANDING AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE 
                             UNITED STATES

  Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Corzine, and Mr. 
Lautenberg) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                            S. Con. Res. 123

       Whereas Alexander Hamilton dedicated his life to serving 
     his adopted country as a Revolutionary soldier, aide-de-camp 
     to General George Washington, Representative to the 
     Continental Congress, member of the New York State Assembly, 
     first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and 
     Inspector General of the Army;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton was a poor teenage immigrant to 
     New York from the West Indian Islands of Nevis and St. Croix;
       Whereas in the early days of the Revolutionary War 
     Alexander Hamilton was commissioned as a captain and raised 
     and trained his own New York artillery regiment and served 
     valiantly in the battles of Long Island and Manhattan;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton quickly captured the attention 
     of General George Washington who made him his aide-de-camp 
     and confidant throughout the most difficult days of the 
     Revolutionary War;
       Whereas in 1781, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton of 
     the Continental Army led a bold attack of New York troops 
     during the siege of Yorktown, the decisive and final battle 
     of the Revolutionary War;
       Whereas in 1782, Alexander Hamilton was elected as a member 
     of the Continental Congress from New York;
       Whereas as a private citizen Alexander Hamilton served many 
     philanthropic causes and was a co-founder of the New York 
     Manumission Society, the first abolitionist organization in 
     New York and a major influence on the abolition of slavery 
     from the State;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton was a strong and consistent 
     advocate against slavery and believed that Blacks and Whites 
     were equal citizens and equal in their mental and physical 
     faculties;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton was one of the first members of 
     the founding generation to call for a convention to 
     drastically revise the Articles of Confederation;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton joined James Madison in 
     Annapolis, Maryland in 1786 to officially request that the 
     States call a constitutional convention;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton was elected as a delegate to the 
     Constitutional Convention of 1787 from New York, where he 
     played an influential role and was the only delegate from New 
     York to sign the Constitution;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton was the primary author of the 
     Federalist Papers, the single most influential interpretation 
     of American constitutional law ever written;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton was the most important 
     individual force in achieving the ratification of the 
     Constitution in New York against the strong opposition of 
     many of the delegates to the ratifying convention;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton was the leading voice of the 
     founding generation in support of the controversial doctrine 
     of judicial review, which is the backbone for the role of the 
     Supreme Court in the constitutional system of the United 
     States;
       Whereas on September 11, 1789, Alexander Hamilton was 
     appointed by President George Washington to be the first 
     Secretary of the Treasury;
       Whereas as Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton 
     salvaged the public credit, created the first Bank of the 
     United States, and outlined the basic economic vision of a 
     mixed agricultural and manufacturing society supported by a 
     strong financial system that would underlie the great 
     economic expansion of the United States for the next 2 
     centuries;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton was the leading proponent among 
     the Founding Fathers of encouraging a strong manufacturing 
     base for the United States in order to create good paying 
     middle-class jobs and encourage a society built on merit 
     rather than class or skin color;
       Whereas in pursuit of this vision Alexander Hamilton 
     founded The Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures 
     which in turn founded the town of Paterson, New Jersey, one 
     of the first industrial centers of the United States;
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton proposed and oversaw the 
     creation of the Coast Guard for law enforcement in 
     territorial waters of the United States;
       Whereas in 1798, President John Adams called upon Alexander 
     Hamilton to raise an army in preparation for a possible war 
     with France and, as Inspector General of the Army, he trained 
     a powerful force of well-equipped soldiers who were able to 
     help deter war at this vulnerable stage in the founding of 
     the United States;

[[Page S7941]]

       Whereas throughout the founding era Alexander Hamilton was 
     the leading advocate of a strong national union led by an 
     efficient Federal Government with significant protections for 
     individual liberties;
       Whereas on July 11, 1804, Alexander Hamilton was fatally 
     wounded in a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey at the hands of 
     Vice President Aaron Burr; and
       Whereas Alexander Hamilton died in Manhattan on July 12, 
     1804, and was eulogized across the country as one of the 
     leading visionaries of the founding era: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) honors the great importance of the life and legacy of 
     Alexander Hamilton to the United States of America on the 
     bicentennial of his death;
       (2) recognizes the tremendous significance of the 
     contributions of Alexander Hamilton to the United States as a 
     soldier, citizen, and statesman; and
       (3) urges the people of the United States to share in this 
     commemoration so as to gain a greater appreciation of the 
     critical role that Alexander Hamilton had in defense of 
     America's freedom and the founding of the United States.

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