[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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