[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20218-20219]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


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                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
   SENATE RESOLUTION 205--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT A 
 COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP SHOULD BE ISSUED ON THE SUBJECT OF AUTISM 
                               AWARENESS

  Mr. COLEMAN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Governmental Affairs:

                              S. Res. 205

       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued by the 
     United States Postal Service on the subject of autism 
     awareness; and
       (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend 
     to the Postmaster General that such a postage stamp be 
     issued.

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I would like to show my support for the 
autism awareness resolution submitted today by my colleague, Senator 
Coleman. Autism is a developmental disability which typically appears 
during the first 3 years of life and impairs the communication and 
social skills in those affected. The result of a neurological disorder 
affecting the functioning of the brain, autism and its associated 
behaviors occur in as many as 1 in 500 individuals, in a rate of 5 boys 
to every girl. Because autism is difficult to recognize and diagnose, 
it is important that families seek an evaluation by a medical 
professional experienced in diagnosing and treating the disorder.
  This disability is about 10 times more prevalent today than it was in 
the 1980s, with over 500,000 people in the U.S. today with some form of 
this pervasive developmental disorder. Its frequency rate makes autism 
one of the most common developmental disabilities. However, most of the 
public, including many medical, educational, and vocational 
professionals, are still unaware of how autism affects people and how 
they can effectively work with individuals with this diagnosis. I 
encourage my colleagues to join me in my efforts to increase autism 
awareness, and support this resolution.
                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 206--HONORING THE MEMORY OF DR. WILLIAM R. (``BILL'') 
 BRIGHT AND COMMENDING HIS LIFE AS AN EXAMPLE TO SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS

  Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mrs. Dole) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 206

       Whereas Dr. Bright died on July 19, 2003, at age 81 in 
     Orlando, Florida from complications related to pulmonary 
     fibrosis, a lung disease for which there is no known cure or 
     effective treatment;
       Whereas Dr. Bright was an agnostic humanist and 
     materialist, and successful Hollywood businessman, until he 
     became ``overcome by the love of our great Creator God and 
     Savior'' in 1945, whereupon he spent 5 years in theological 
     studies at Princeton and Fuller Theological Seminaries;
       Whereas Dr. Bright, with his wife Vonette, in 1951 founded 
     Campus Crusade for Christ International, which now serves 
     people in 191 countries through a staff of 27,000 full-time 
     employees and up to 500,000 trained volunteers;
       Whereas his life focus was on students and laypersons, and 
     from the first he emphasized the role of women as full 
     partners in leadership in the various ministries;
       Whereas Dr. Billy Graham, a long-time friend of the 
     Brights, has said: ``He is a man whose sincerity and 
     integrity and devotion to our Lord have been an inspiration 
     and a blessing to me ever since the early days of my 
     ministry'';
       Whereas Dr. Bright lived simply, owning neither houses nor 
     land, and receiving no honoraria or donations for his 
     thousands of appearances across the world, and the scores of 
     writings and video presentations he developed;
       Whereas when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, he 
     fulfilled a dream of more than 40 years of praying for Russia 
     by donating his entire pension to establish a ministry to the 
     students of Moscow State University;
       Whereas Campus Crusade for Christ International operates 
     more than 70 ministries and projects which offer hope and 
     spiritual enlightenment across the globe to students on 
     hundreds of campuses, urban residents, including minorities, 
     the well-known Athletes-in-Action ministry, leaders of 
     governments, inmates of prisons, aid to families, aid to 
     health and education programs, aid to families of military 
     personnel, executives, entertainers and musicians, and many 
     others;
       Whereas in 1979, Dr. Bright commissioned the JESUS film, a 
     feature-length documentary on the life of Christ, directed by 
     John Heyman, which has since been viewed by more than 
     5,100,000,000 people in 234 countries and has become the most 
     widely viewed, as well as most widely translated, in 786 
     languages, film in history;
       Whereas Dr. Bright is author of more than 100 books and 
     booklets, as well as thousands of articles and pamphlets that 
     have been distributed by the millions in most major 
     languages, including the widely regarded Four Spiritual Laws 
     of which 2,500,000,000 copies have been distributed;
       Whereas Dr. Bright received 8 honorary degrees from 
     universities in the United States and other nations, and 
     numerous awards and honors from higher education, his home 
     state of Oklahoma, and his peers in religious, radio, and 
     television broadcasting;
       Whereas, Dr. Bright was awarded the unique and prestigious 
     Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1996, presented 
     by Prince Phillip at Buckingham Palace in London, and was 
     received by Pope John Paul II in Rome where he addressed 
     world spiritual leaders in accepting its $1,100,000 prize, 
     which he directed be given to worldwide fasting for peace and 
     spiritual enlightenment;
       Whereas Dr. Bright sought ecumenical and trans-
     denominational cooperation throughout the world by building 
     more than 1,000 partnerships with other ministries, and in 
     1983, he and former President Ronald Reagan, along with 
     Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant members of the clergy, 
     informed Congress which voted to establish The Year of the 
     Bible to help focus on timeless truths for the Nation;
       Whereas he helped create what media reports describe as the 
     largest non-denominational Christian ministry in the world, 
     and he rejected appeals to establish a single religious 
     denomination and would not allow his name to be attached to 
     any single denominational enterprise;
       Whereas he urged followers to be ``salt and light,'' to 
     seek civility in society, and to be active in ministry to 
     prisons, hospitals, orphanages, and he declared the duties of 
     citizenship to be reliably informed, active in the study of 
     issues, voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, and 
     personal voting;
       Whereas he never endorsed individual candidates or parties, 
     and encouraged laypersons to seek public service and often 
     called upon people in all lands to study American History, 
     declaring President George Washington as his secular hero 
     after Jesus of Nazareth and the Apostle Paul;
       Whereas in response to a suggestion from a Member of the 
     United States Senate, he helped establish the Evangelical 
     Council for Financial Accountability to set high standards 
     and monitor their compliance, setting an example for all 
     charitable organizations;
       Whereas Money magazine has often cited Campus Crusade for 
     Christ International as best or one of the top 5 non-profit 
     ministries for effective stewardship of donor dollars; and

[[Page 20219]]

       Whereas in his last months he co-founded the Global Pastors 
     Network, a separate ministry to pastors worldwide with 
     helpful resources and a goal to start 5,000,000 home-based 
     studies of the attributes of God: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) sends its condolences to Mrs. Vonette Zachary Bright, 
     their grandchildren, their sons, Zac and Brad, and their 
     wives, Terry and Katherine, all of whom are also in full-time 
     Christian ministry; and
       (2) does hereby honor the memory of Dr. William R. 
     (``Bill'') Bright, an ambassador of spiritual goodwill, whose 
     58 years of dedicated and effective service stand as an 
     outstanding example of selfless leadership to all humankind.

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