[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S6588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE LIFE OF ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE, SR., ON THE 
                     SESQUICENTENNIAL OF HIS BIRTH

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 
161, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will state the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 161) honoring the life of Robert M. 
     La Follette, Sr., on the sesquicentennial of his birth.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating 
thereto be printed at the appropriate place in the Record as if read, 
with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 161) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 161

       Whereas Robert M. La Follette, Sr., better known as 
     ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette, was born 150 years ago, on June 
     14, 1855, in Primrose, Wisconsin;
       Whereas Fighting Bob was elected to 3 terms in the United 
     States House of Representatives, 3 terms as Governor of 
     Wisconsin, and 4 terms as a United States Senator;
       Whereas Fighting Bob founded the Progressive wing of the 
     Republican Party;
       Whereas Fighting Bob was a lifelong supporter of civil 
     rights and women's suffrage, earning respect and support from 
     such distinguished Americans as Frederick Douglass and 
     Harriet Tubman Upton;
       Whereas Fighting Bob helped to make the ``Wisconsin Idea'' 
     a reality at the Federal and State level, instituting 
     election reforms, environmental conservation, railroad rate 
     regulation, increased education funding, and business 
     regulation;
       Whereas Fighting Bob was a principal advocate for the 
     Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States, which calls for the election of United States 
     Senators by popular vote;
       Whereas Fighting Bob delivered an historic speech, ``Free 
     Speech in Wartime'', opposing the public persecution of those 
     who sought to hold their Government accountable;
       Whereas Fighting Bob played a key role in exposing the 
     corruption during the Teapot Dome Scandal;
       Whereas Fighting Bob and his wife, Belle Case La Follette, 
     founded La Follette's Weekly, now renamed The Progressive, a 
     monthly magazine for the Progressive community;
       Whereas Fighting Bob ran for the presidency on the 
     Progressive ticket in 1924, winning more than 17 percent of 
     the popular vote;
       Whereas the Library of Congress recognized Fighting Bob in 
     1985 by naming the Congressional Research Service reading 
     room in the Madison Building in honor of both Robert M. La 
     Follette, Sr., and his son, Robert M. La Follette, Jr., for 
     their shared commitment to the development of a legislative 
     research service to support the United States Congress;
       Whereas Fighting Bob was honored in 1929 with 1 of 2 
     statues representing the State of Wisconsin in National 
     Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol;
       Whereas Fighting Bob was chosen as 1 of ``Five Outstanding 
     Senators'' by the Special Committee on the Senate Reception 
     Room in 1957;
       Whereas a portrait of Fighting Bob was unveiled in the 
     Senate Reception Room in March 1959; and
       Whereas Fighting Bob was revered by his supporters for his 
     unwavering commitment to his ideals, and for his tenacious 
     pursuit of a more just and accountable Government: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) celebrates the sesquicentennial of the birth of Robert 
     M. La Follette, Sr.;
       (2) recognizes the important contributions of Robert M. La 
     Follette, Sr., to the Progressive movement, the State of 
     Wisconsin, and the United States of America; and
       (3) directs that the Secretary of the Senate transmit an 
     enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of Robert M. 
     La Follette, Sr., and the Wisconsin Historical Society.

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