[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 87-88]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE OF REX DAVID ``DAVE'' THOMAS

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
consideration of S. Res. 199 submitted earlier today by Senators Levin, 
DeWine, and others.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 199) honoring the life of Rex David 
     ``Dave'' Thomas and expressing the deepest condolences of the 
     Senate to his family on his death.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, today I join a large number of my 
colleagues in the Senate in recognizing and mourning the loss of a 
selfless, dedicated American who was an unyielding advocate and 
activist for the cause of adoption.
  Rex David ``Dave'' Thomas was born on July 2, 1932, in Atlantic City, 
NJ, and was adopted soon afterward by Rex and Auleva Thomas, who lived 
in Kalamazoo, MI. Dave Thomas passed away on January 8 of this year at 
the age of 69. The bipartisan resolution which the Senate is about to 
adopt, hopefully today, extends condolences to Dave's wife of 47 years, 
Lorraine, and their 5 children: Pam, Ken, Molly, Wendy, and Lori, and 
their 16 grandchildren.
  The Thomas family has much to be proud of and to cherish. Dave Thomas 
led a life of dynamic public and human service. He was a man of vision, 
action, and compassion, and for generations to come the fruits of his 
labor will continue to improve the lives of the multitude of children 
who seek a permanent home and loving family and the multitude of 
families who wish to enrich their lives through adoption.
  Dave Thomas was 12 years old when he got his first restaurant job as 
a counterman. At 20, he successfully turned around four failing 
restaurant franchises. He became a millionaire by the age of 35. In 
1969, Dave Thomas started the company for which he is most famous, 
Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers. It was and is a success by any 
standard. Dave Thomas was able, through sheer determination, 
unpretentious know-how, and love for the restaurant business, to rise 
to the top of his chosen field. Dave Thomas was exemplary in the degree 
to which he gave back. He became famous through his numerous television 
commercials, which were so successful because they reflected his 
magnetic and joyful personality. He used that fame to become one of the 
most outspoken proponents of adoption in America.
  In 1992, he established the Dave Thomas Foundation For Adoption, and 
he donated his speaking fees and profits from the sale of his books to 
adoption causes. From 1990 through 2000, he headed up numerous White 
House adoption and foster care initiatives. His fingerprints are on the 
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, the purpose of which is to 
decrease the number of children placed in foster care and to legally 
free those who cannot be safely returned to their homes; the Adoption 
Awareness postage stamp, and the shaping of health policy for numerous 
corporations to cover adoption benefits and expenses.
  Though Dave Thomas was a successful businessman, as well as a 
generous philanthropist, he was first and foremost committed to 
actively improving the lives of children in foster care and helping to 
facilitate their adoption. He did more than just use his irreproachable 
reputation to improve the lives of thousands of children; he personally 
donated millions of dollars to the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital at 
Ohio State University, to Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH, and to 
the Thomas Center at Duke University, which he founded. Through these 
and many more charitable contributions, Dave Thomas advanced the 
American dream. He was a man who gave not out of a sense of obligation 
but because he believed it was simply the right thing to do.
  So, Madam President, David Thomas was a remarkable man, and his too-
early death will leave many people with one fewer friend. He was 
greatly respected, much loved, and he will be deeply missed by all who 
knew him. The resolution, which I hope will be cleared for passage 
today, is a testament to the respect and the high esteem in which this 
body holds Dave Thomas and his memory.
  I ask unanimous consent that the names of the Senators, including our 
Presiding Officer, who join me in sponsoring this resolution be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

    Cosponsors of the Dave Thomas Resolution as of January 23, 2002

       Senators Levin, DeWine, Landrieu, Stabenow, Craig, Clinton, 
     Helms, Voinovich, Rockefeller, Grassley, Baucus, Chafee, 
     Crapo, Inhofe, Feinstein, Hollings, Lugar, Hagel, Hutchison, 
     Allen, McCain, Johnson, Nickles, Burns, Sessions, and Durbin.

  Mr. JOHNSON. Madam President, today I pay tribute to the life of Dave 
Thomas. The adoption community has suffered a huge loss through his 
death on January 8th, and I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the Senate 
resolution honoring his life.
  As a founding member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I 
have had the opportunity to recognize people who have been exceptional 
advocates for the adoption community, and Dave Thomas is at the top of 
that list.
  An adopted child himself, Dave Thomas made it his lifelong goal to 
find every child a home. In 1990, Dave answered the call of President 
George Bush, who asked him to be the spokesperson for his national 
adoption program called ``Adoption Works. . . . For Everyone.'' After 2 
years, Thomas decided he wanted to do more, and so he created his own 
nonprofit organization to make it easier and more affordable for people 
to adopt children. Thomas' efforts, backed by the Congressional 
Coalition on Adoption, have streamlined the adoption process and 
reduced the financial barriers many families

[[Page 88]]

face when they adopt children, especially those with special needs.
  The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption provides a voice for 134,000 
children across our country who are waiting to find a loving family. 
The efforts of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Wendy's have 
paid off. Forty percent of all callers into the National Foundation for 
Adoption's toll free number cite trayliners, public service 
announcements and posters that they have seen inside Wendy's 
Restaurants as the reason for their call.
  Dave was a tireless advocate for the adoption community, and 
thankfully his legacy will live on through the thousands of children 
who have found a loving home because of his efforts. If everyone 
subscribed to Dave's theory that no child is ``unadoptable,'' this 
world would be a better place.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution and the preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to 
the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 199) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The text of the resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's 
Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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