[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15986]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING THE LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ROBERT EDWARD SIMON, JR.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 285, submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 285) commemorating the life and 
     accomplishments of Robert Edward Simon, Jr.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 285) was agreed to.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, just over a year ago, I attended a dual 
celebration in the Town of Reston, VA--50 years since the town's 
founding and 100 years since the birth of its founder. That founder, 
Robert E. Simon, Jr., whose initials were the basis for naming the 
town, passed away on September 21st at the age of 101.
  Bob Simon was a visionary who recognized that all humans ought to be 
able to live together and be neighbors. His vision was of a community 
in which people could live, work, and play in the same general area. He 
believed that features like natural landscaping, open plazas, and 
public art were important to building a vibrant community and fostering 
a sense of place. Today we would call that ``smart growth,'' but to 
Bob, it was simply common-sense. His vision was ahead of its time in 
another way. It was a vision of a community in which people of all 
races and income levels could coexist--a vision that was not yet shared 
by all in the segregated Virginia of the early 1960s.
  The legacy of Bob Simon will live on in the community he created and 
loved. I and my Virginia colleague Senator Mark Warner ask the Senate 
to formally commemorate Bob and the ideals he championed in his life's 
work of a better and more just America.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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