[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20408-20409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 589--COMMENDING NEW YORK STATE SENATOR JOHN J. MARCHI 
   ON HIS 50 YEARS IN THE NEW YORK STATE SENATE AND ON BECOMING THE 
         LONGEST SERVING STATE LEGISLATOR IN THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. SCHUMER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 589

       Whereas New York State Senator John J. Marchi has been 
     recognized by the National Conference of State Legislatures 
     as the longest serving state legislator in the United States;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi was born on May 20, 1921, in 
     Staten Island and attended local primary and secondary 
     schools in New York, then Manhattan College, from which he 
     graduated with first honors in 1942, St. John's University 
     School of Law, from which he received a law degree, and 
     Brooklyn Law School, from which he received an advanced 
     degree in law;
       Whereas, during World War II, State Senator Marchi served 
     in the United States Coast Guard and saw combat in the 
     Atlantic and Pacific theaters and in the China Sea, and 
     subsequently served in the United States Naval Reserve until 
     1982;
       Whereas, in 1956, State Senator Marchi was elected to the 
     New York State Senate and has served the citizens of Senate 
     District 24 for 50 years, making him the longest serving 
     state legislator in the United States;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi served as a delegate to the 
     New York Constitutional Convention in 1967;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi is a recognized leader of the 
     New York State Senate and was named Assistant Majority Leader 
     on Conference Operations in January 2005, Assistant Majority 
     Whip in 2003, Chairman of the Senate Committee on 
     Corporations, Authorities and Commissions in 1995, and Vice 
     President Pro Tempore in 1989;
       Whereas, prior to holding these offices, State Senator 
     Marchi served as Chairman of the Finance Committee for 15 
     years;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi is a tireless leader and 
     advocate for New York City, has served on the City of New 
     York Committee in the New York State Senate, and was named 
     Chairman of the Temporary State Commission on New York City 
     School Governance in 1989, a panel of civic, governmental, 
     business, and educational leaders that conducted a 2-year 
     examination of the control of the city schools and, in 1991, 
     gave the State legislature a package of proposals intended to 
     improve the administration of, and public participation in, 
     the New York City school system;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi is widely recognized as one of 
     the city and State leaders who helped write the laws that 
     saved New York City from financial collapse in the mid-1970s;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi sponsored the bill, now law, 
     that modernized New York State's financial reporting and 
     bookkeeping practices so that the legislature and the public 
     could see more clearly the State government's actual fiscal 
     condition;
       Whereas, in 1997, State Senator Marchi successfully 
     advanced--and saw passed and signed into law--a bill to 
     require the closing by January 1, 2002 of the Fresh Kills 
     Landfill, Staten Island's worst environmental problem for 
     more than half a century, which the legislature had not 
     previously scheduled for closure;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi has also been a leader in the 
     development of legislation to strengthen public education 
     from kindergarten through graduate school;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi has been a member of the 
     Executive Committee and Board of Governors of the Council of 
     State Governments since 1965, is a former Chairman of the 
     Committee, and was designated the first permanent member of 
     the Committee in 1982;
       Whereas, in 1969 and 1973, State Senator Marchi was the 
     candidate of the Republican Party for the Office of Mayor of 
     the City of New York;

[[Page 20409]]

       Whereas, in October 1972, State Senator Marchi was 
     appointed by President Nixon to serve as the only legislator 
     on the National Advisory Committee on Drug Abuse Prevention;
       Whereas, following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the New 
     York Senate Majority Leader appointed State Senator Marchi to 
     head the New York Senate Task Force on World Trade Center 
     Recovery, which was to help oversee the reconstruction of 
     Ground Zero;
       Whereas, on June 2, 1968, State Senator Marchi received 
     from the President and Prime Minister of Italy the highest 
     award that country bestows on a nonresident, the award of 
     Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, and 
     in 1992, the Senator received another of Italy's most 
     prestigious honors, the Filippo Mazzei Award, in recognition 
     of his public service and for helping to strengthen relations 
     between the United States and Italy;
       Whereas State Senator Marchi is the recipient of the Mills 
     G. Skinner Award of the National Urban League, an 
     organization devoted to empowering African Americans to enter 
     the economic and social mainstream;
       Whereas, in 1976, the New York State Veterans of Foreign 
     Wars conferred upon the Senator the Silver Commendation Medal 
     for ``legislative service to veterans and all New Yorkers''; 
     and
       Whereas, in 1971, State Senator Marchi was awarded the 
     degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from St. John's 
     University and, in 1973, received the same degree from 
     Manhattan College, and in 1974, was awarded the degree of 
     Doctor of Laws from Wagner College: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate commends New York State Senator 
     John J. Marchi for his 50-year tenure in the New York State 
     Senate, on becoming the longest serving state legislator in 
     the United States, and on his lifelong commitment to the 
     citizens of Staten Island and New York.

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