[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 673 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 673
Honoring the life of David Hampton Pryor, former United States Senator
for the State of Arkansas.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 2, 2024
Mr. Boozman (for himself, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Schumer, Mr. McConnell, Ms.
Baldwin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Booker, Mr. Braun, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Brown, Mr. Budd, Ms. Butler, Ms.
Cantwell, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cassidy,
Ms. Collins, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Cramer, Mr.
Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Ernst, Mr.
Fetterman, Mrs. Fischer, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr.
Hagerty, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms.
Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly,
Mr. Kennedy, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lujan,
Ms. Lummis, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Markey, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Menendez, Mr.
Merkley, Mr. Moran, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray,
Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Paul, Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, Mr. Ricketts,
Mr. Risch, Mr. Romney, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Sanders,
Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Scott of South
Carolina, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Smith, Ms. Stabenow, Mr.
Sullivan, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Vance, Mr. Warner, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Warren, Mr. Welch, Mr.
Whitehouse, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Young) submitted the
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring the life of David Hampton Pryor, former United States Senator
for the State of Arkansas.
Whereas David H. Pryor--
(1) was born in Camden, Arkansas, in 1934; and
(2) graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1957 and the
University of Arkansas School of Law in 1964;
Whereas David H. Pryor learned as a young man the value and importance of public
service through his family's role in public life, inspiring him to
dedicate his life to public service;
Whereas, after graduating from the University of Arkansas, David H. Pryor
returned to Camden, Arkansas, with his wife, Barbara Jean Lunsford,
where they started and edited a weekly newspaper, ``The Ouachita
Citizen'', which served as a counter-voice to the segregationist
policies of Governor Orval Faubus;
Whereas David H. Pryor was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in
1960 at the age of 26, where he continued his opposition to the Faubus
machine and served until 1966;
Whereas, in 1966, David H. Pryor was elected to the United States House of
Representatives, where he represented the Fourth District of Arkansas
until 1973;
Whereas, in 1974, David H. Pryor was elected the thirty-ninth Governor of
Arkansas, was reelected in 1976, and served through 1978;
Whereas David H. Pryor was elected to the United States Senate in 1978 and
served three terms until his retirement in 1997;
Whereas, as Governor of Arkansas, David H. Pryor championed positive initiatives
and reforms for Arkansas, including--
(1) successfully calling for a convention to reform Arkansas's
Constitution;
(2) creating the Department of Arkansas Natural and Cultural Heritage,
now known as the Division of Arkansas Heritage, which promotes Arkansas's
natural and cultural heritage;
(3) leading Arkansas through an economic recession during the 1970s
without cutting State services or raising taxes; and
(4) appointing a large number of African Americans and women to high-
profile boards and commissions;
Whereas, during David H. Pryor's tenure as United States Senator for Arkansas,
he--
(1) served as Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and the
White House Conference on Aging, where he focused on prescription drug
pricing and major reforms to elder care;
(2) served on the Committee on Finance of the Senate, where he--
G (A) authored the landmark Omnibus Taxpayer Bill of Rights (Public
Law 100-647), which was enacted into law in 1988; and
G (B) focused on ensuring that tax dollars were spent in a prudent
manner and taxpayers were treated fairly and not harassed by the Internal
Revenue Service;
(3) was elected to and served as Secretary of the Senate Democratic
Caucus; and
(4) worked as an important liaison between the United States Senate and
the administration of President Bill Clinton;
Whereas, after retiring from the United States Senate, David H. Pryor became the
Fulbright Distinguished Fellow of Law and Public Affairs at the
University of Arkansas and later the Director of the Institute of
Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government;
Whereas David H. Pryor also donated unused campaign funds to the University of
Arkansas to support the University's efforts to preserve historical
documents, which resulted in the creation of the David and Barbara Pryor
Center for Oral and Visual History;
Whereas, in 2004, David H. Pryor was named inaugural dean of the University of
Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service;
Whereas David H. Pryor was appointed interim chairman of the State Democratic
Party following the death of Bill Gwatney in 2008 and was appointed to
the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees by Governor Mike Beebe in
2009;
Whereas, in 2008, David H. Pryor published his autobiography, ``A Pryor
Commitment'';
Whereas David H. Pryor served on the Board of Directors for the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting from 2006 to 2014 and received the corporation's
Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019;
Whereas David H. Pryor left an extraordinary legacy for the people of Arkansas
and the United States and was a distinguished public servant and true
statesmen who served with dedication and honor, living by his motto
``Arkansas Comes First'';
Whereas David H. Pryor exemplified the values of bipartisanship, collaboration,
and empathy, consistently working to find common ground and advance
positive initiatives; and
Whereas David H. Pryor is survived by his wife, Barbara Jean Pryor, his three
sons and their wives, David, Jr. and Judith Pryor, Mark and Joi Pryor,
and Scott and Diane Pryor, his four grandchildren, Hampton, Adams,
Porter, and Devin, his great-grandchild, Raven, and his two sisters,
Cornelia Lindsey of Camden, Arkansas, and Elinor Pryor of Little Rock,
Arkansas: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep
regret the announcement of the death of David H. Pryor, former
Member of the Senate;
(2) the Senate directs the Secretary of the Senate--
(A) to communicate this resolution to the House of
Representatives; and
(B) to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution
to the family of David H. Pryor; and
(3) when the Senate adjourns today, it stands adjourned as
a further mark of respect to the memory of the late David H.
Pryor.
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