[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5964-S5965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 499--ACKNOWLEDGING THE LIFETIME OF SERVICE OF SANDRA 
    DAY O'CONNOR TO THE UNITED STATES AS A SUCCESSFUL ARIZONA STATE 
 SENATOR, TRAILBLAZER, EXPERT COLLABORATOR, EDUCATIONAL ADVOCATE, AND 
  ONE OF THE GREAT JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

  Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Mr. Kelly, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Capito, Mrs. 
Fischer, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Butler, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. 
Cortez Masto, Ms. Collins, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. Britt, Ms. Smith, and Mrs. 
Hyde-Smith) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 499

       Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor was born in 1930 in El Paso, 
     Texas, and spent her childhood on her family's isolated 
     Arizona cattle ranch;
       Whereas O'Connor lived with her grandmother in El Paso 
     during the school year, away from her home and parents;

[[Page S5965]]

       Whereas O'Connor matriculated to Stanford University at the 
     age of 16 and combined her undergraduate and law school 
     curricula, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics 
     and a law degree in just 6 years;
       Whereas O'Connor graduated third in her law school class, 
     behind William Rehnquist, her future colleague on the Supreme 
     Court of the United States (referred to in this preamble as 
     the ``Supreme Court'');
       Whereas, despite her qualifications, O'Connor could not 
     find work as an attorney because of bias against women in the 
     law;
        Whereas O'Connor ended up negotiating for an unpaid 
     position in the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office 
     at a shared desk, while her husband, John, finished at 
     Stanford Law School 1 year later;
       Whereas O'Connor traveled to Frankfurt, Germany, in 1954 
     with her husband John, who had joined the United States Army 
     Judge Advocate General's Corps, and she was able to find work 
     as a civilian attorney with the United States Army 
     Quartermaster Corps;
       Whereas, in 1957, O'Connor returned to Arizona and still 
     could not find work with a traditional law firm due to her 
     gender, so she ``hung out a shingle'' as a sole practitioner;
       Whereas, in 1965, O'Connor was hired as an Assistant 
     Attorney General for the State of Arizona;
       Whereas O'Connor was active in Republican Party politics 
     and was well-received for her work at the Arizona Attorney 
     General's Office, which resulted in her appointment to an 
     Arizona State Senate seat in 1969 when the incumbent, also a 
     woman, was appointed to a Federal position and vacated the 
     office;
       Whereas, in 1970, O'Connor was elected to the Arizona State 
     Senate and served 2 consecutive terms;
       Whereas, in 1972, O'Connor was selected as Majority Leader 
     of the Arizona State Senate, the first time a woman held such 
     a position in any State;
       Whereas, in 1974, O'Connor was elected as a trial court 
     judge and was later appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals 
     in 1979;
       Whereas, on August 19, 1981, President Ronald Reagan 
     nominated O'Connor to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme 
     Court to fill the seat vacated by Associate Justice Potter 
     Stewart;
       Whereas, on September 21, 1981, the Senate confirmed 
     O'Connor's nomination by a unanimous vote, making her the 
     first woman to serve on the Supreme Court;
       Whereas O'Connor established herself as a pragmatic, 
     independent voice on the Supreme Court, casting decisive 
     votes during a time when the Supreme Court was being asked to 
     resolve politically charged issues;
       Whereas O'Connor put a very public face on the role of the 
     Supreme Court, domestically and around the world;
       Whereas O'Connor became the Supreme Court's most prolific 
     public speaker, traveling to all 50 States and to countless 
     law schools, libraries, and public events to describe how the 
     Supreme Court works and its role in our constitutional form 
     of government;
       Whereas O'Connor traveled worldwide as an ambassador for 
     the rule of law and the independence of judiciaries 
     everywhere;
       Whereas, after 24 years on the Supreme Court, O'Connor 
     announced her retirement to care for her beloved husband, who 
     had Alzheimer's disease;
       Whereas O'Connor began her retirement with 2 goals, which 
     were to--
       (1) convince more States to adopt merit selection of judges 
     for filling vacancies in State courts; and
       (2) educate the public on the importance of an independent 
     judiciary;

       Whereas O'Connor's judicial independence work led to her 
     awareness of a national civics education deficit;
       Whereas, in 2009, O'Connor created the free-to-use, ad-free 
     platform iCivics.org to educate young citizens of the United 
     States about civics and what it means to be a citizen;
       Whereas iCivics.org grew to become the largest civics 
     education platform in the United States, with over 7,000,000 
     students annually enrolling in the programs the platform 
     offers;
       Whereas the popularity of iCivics.org was due to its 
     captivating online, interactive gaming approach;
       Whereas iCivics.org played a crucial role in Educating for 
     American Democracy, a Federally funded initiative to improve 
     civics and history education, which released its reports in 
     March 2021;
       Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor was a beloved sister, wife, 
     mother, and grandmother;
       Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor was an icon, trailblazer, and 
     dedicated public servant, who leaves behind a legacy that has 
     inspired generations of women, including the 5 women justices 
     who have followed in her footsteps on the Supreme Court; and
       Whereas Sandra Day O'Connor will be remembered as a pioneer 
     in the history of the United States and will always be 
     revered as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) extends heartfelt sympathies to the family and friends 
     of Sandra Day O'Connor;
       (2) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate 
     communicate this resolution to the House of Representatives 
     and transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of 
     Justice Sandra Day O'Connor; and
       (3) acknowledges the lifetime of service of Sandra Day 
     O'Connor, a successful Arizona State Senator, trailblazer, 
     expert collaborator, educational advocate, and the first 
     woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

                          ____________________