[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S50-S51]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

  SENATE RESOLUTION 484--HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF LATE SENATOR 
                     JOHN ``JOHNNY'' HARDY ISAKSON

  Mr. WARNOCK (for himself, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Schumer, Mr. McConnell, 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, Ms. 
Ernst, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Fischer, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
Grassley, Mr. Hagerty, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. 
Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
Johnson, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, 
Mr. Lankford, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Manchin, 
Mr. Markey, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Moran, Ms. 
Murkowski, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Paul, Mr. Peters, 
Mr. Portman, Mr. Reed, Mr. Risch, 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. Tuberville, 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:

                              S. Res. 484

       Whereas John ``Johnny'' Hardy Isakson (referred to in this 
     preamble as ``Johnny Isakson'') was born on December 28, 
     1944, to Edwin Andrew Isakson and Julia (Baker) Isakson in 
     Atlanta, Georgia;
       Whereas Johnny Isakson served in the Georgia Air National 
     Guard between 1966 and 1972, leaving service as a staff 
     sergeant;
       Whereas, in 1966, Johnny Isakson earned a bachelor's degree 
     in business administration from the University of Georgia 
     before starting a successful career in real estate;
       Whereas, in 1979, Johnny Isakson became president of 
     Northside Realty, a post he held for 22 years, during which 
     Northside Realty became the biggest independent real estate 
     company in the Southeast and one of the largest real estate 
     companies in the United States;
       Whereas, in 1976, Johnny Isakson was elected to the Georgia 
     House of Representatives, where he served until 1990 and 
     served as Republican Minority Leader between 1983 and 1990;
       Whereas, in 1993, Johnny Isakson was elected to the Georgia 
     Senate, where he served until 1996;
       Whereas, in 1997, Johnny Isakson was appointed chairman of 
     the Georgia Board of Education;
       Whereas, in 1999, Johnny Isakson was elected to the House 
     of Representatives, where he served on the Committee on 
     Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and 
     worked on legislation, including the No Child Left Behind Act 
     of 2001 (Public Law 107-110; 115 Stat. 1425);
       Whereas, in 2004, Johnny Isakson was elected to the Senate 
     for the first time, becoming the only Georgian to have ever 
     been elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, the 
     Georgia Senate, and both Houses of Congress;
       Whereas Johnny Isakson served the people of Georgia 
     honorably in the Senate for 15 years, including service on 
     the Committee on Finance of the Senate, the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and service as 
     the Chair of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate 
     and the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate;
       Whereas, during his tenure as a Senator, Johnny Isakson 
     developed a reputation as a bipartisan leader who sought 
     common ground and successfully advanced pension legislation 
     to save jobs in Georgia, legislation to invest in the Port of 
     Savannah, legislation to allocate disaster relief funding in 
     Georgia, and bipartisan legislation to overhaul the health 
     care system for veterans of the United States;
       Whereas, prior to his resignation from the Senate in 2019 
     due to health reasons, Johnny Isakson strongly advocated for 
     bipartisan compromise and cooperation in the Senate, hosting 
     the annual bipartisan barbecue lunch for colleagues on both 
     sides of the aisle and once stating, ``I'm big on 
     bipartisanship. Whether you're Black or white, Republican or 
     Democrat, whatever it might be, find a way to find common 
     ground. Give it a chance to work. . .Bipartisanship is a 
     state of being.'';
       Whereas after stepping down from the Senate, Johnny Isakson 
     launched the Isakson Initiative to raise money for research 
     into Parkinson's disease and other neurocognitive diseases;
       Whereas Johnny Isakson was beloved and respected by his 
     colleagues and once described the only division he saw as 
     between ``friends and future friends'';
       Whereas, on December 19, 2021, at the age of 76, Johnny 
     Isakson died, leaving behind his wife Dianne Davison, his 3 
     loving children (John, Julie, and Kevin), 9 grandchildren, 
     and a legacy of steadfast love for and service to the people 
     of Georgia: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the life and legacy of the late Senator John 
     ``Johnny'' Hardy Isakson (referred to in this resolution as 
     ``Johnny Isakson'') for his--
       (A) accomplishments as a patriot and an example for future 
     generations of leaders;
       (B) unwavering dedication to Georgia as a Senator, a member 
     of the House of Representatives, and a public servant; and
       (C) steadfast commitment to legislating with principle, 
     compassion, and a heart for compromise and cooperation;
       (2) proclaims that Johnny Isakson represented the best of 
     Georgia and honorably embodied friendship and decency during 
     his more than 40 years of public service to Georgia and to 
     the United States;
       (3) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the 
     Senate--
       (A) communicate this resolution to the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (B) transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the 
     family of Johnny Isakson; and
       (4) when the Senate adjourns today, it stand adjourned as a 
     further mark of respect to the memory of Johnny Isakson.

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