[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 178 (Friday, December 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7038-S7039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 640--RECOGNIZING THE DEATH OF JOHN GLENN, FORMER 
SENATOR FOR THE STATE OF OHIO AND THE FIRST INDIVIDUAL FROM THE UNITED 
                       STATES TO ORBIT THE EARTH

  Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Reid, Mr. 
Alexander, Ms. Ayotte, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Bennet, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Booker, Mr. Boozman, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Burr, 
Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr.

[[Page S7039]]

Cassidy, Mr. Coats, Mr. Cochran, Ms. Collins, Mr. Coons, Mr. Corker, 
Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Mr. Donnelly, 
Mr. Durbin, Mr. Enzi, Mrs. Ernst, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. 
Flake, Mr. Franken, Mr. Gardner, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
Grassley, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Heller, Ms. 
Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaine, 
Mr. King, Mr. Kirk, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lee, 
Mr. Manchin, Mr. Markey, Mr. McCain, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
Merkley, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Moran, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. 
Murray, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Paul, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
Risch, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Sasse, Mr. 
Schatz, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Scott, Mr. Sessions, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Shelby, 
Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
Toomey, Mr. Udall, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, 
Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which 
was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 640

       Whereas John Glenn was born in Cambridge, Ohio, in 1921 to 
     John Herschel Glenn, Sr. and Clara Sproat Glenn;
       Whereas, at 2 years of age, John Glenn moved to New 
     Concord, Ohio, the town where he met his childhood sweetheart 
     and future wife;
       Whereas, in March 1942, shortly after the Japanese attack 
     on Pearl Harbor, John Glenn, who was a student at Muskingum 
     College in New Concord, Ohio, at the time of the attack, 
     entered the Naval Aviation Cadet program;
       Whereas John Glenn served in the Marine Corps from 1942 to 
     1965, during which time John Glenn--
       (1) flew 59 combat missions in World War II and 63 combat 
     missions in Korea; and
       (2) for his service, earned 6 separate Distinguished Flying 
     Cross awards and the Air Medal with 18 clusters;
       Whereas, in 1959, John Glenn was selected by the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration to serve as 1 of the 
     original 7 astronauts of the space program of the United 
     States;
       Whereas, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn guided Mercury 
     spacecraft Friendship 7 into space and circled the globe 3 
     times, traveling a distance of 3,600,000 miles and becoming 
     the first individual from the United States to orbit the 
     Earth;
       Whereas, in 1974, John Glenn arrived in the Senate, where 
     he represented his home State of Ohio for 25 years before 
     retiring in 1999;
       Whereas, during his time in the Senate, John Glenn served 
     on the Committee on Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed Services, the 
     Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Special Committee 
     on Aging;
       Whereas, as Chairman of the Committee on Governmental 
     Affairs, John Glenn worked on a bipartisan basis to eliminate 
     waste and make the Federal Government more efficient;
       Whereas, in 1998, as a 77-year old sitting Senator, John 
     Glenn boarded the space shuttle Discovery for 9 days, again 
     setting history as the oldest individual to fly in space;
       Whereas, in 2008, Ohio State University founded the John 
     Glenn School of Public Affairs, which, in 2015, became the 
     John Glenn College of Public Affairs, with the mission to 
     ``inspire citizenship and develop leadership'' in the public 
     sector;
       Whereas John Glenn was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal 
     on November 16, 2011;
       Whereas John Glenn was awarded the Presidential Medal of 
     Freedom on May 29, 2012;
       Whereas 1 author described John Glenn as ``the last true 
     national hero America has ever had'';
       Whereas John Glenn is survived by his wife of 73 years, his 
     2 children, and his 2 grandsons; and
       Whereas the United States is deeply indebted to John Glenn 
     for his passion for exploration, commitment to public 
     service, and desire to make the world a better place: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate--
       (A) extends its deepest condolences and gratitude to the 
     family of John Glenn; and
       (B) honors the legacy and life of John Glenn, his 
     commitment to the United States, and his service to the 
     Senate and the United States; and
       (2) when the Senate adjourns today, it stands adjourned as 
     a further mark of respect to the memory of the late John 
     Glenn.

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