House Passes Resolution Honoring Former Texas Governor Ann Richards

On February 27, the House approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Res. 42) to recognize and commemorate Ann Richards for her extraordinary contributions to Texas and American public life.

Sponsored by Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), the resolution has a number of findings, including:

Dorothy Ann Willis Richards, the First Lady of Texas politics, an American icon and patriot, who touched the lives of Texans and Americans across the nation, passed away September 13, 2006, after a valiant fight with esophageal cancer;
her service to Texas and the nation included teaching Texas schoolchildren, serving as County Commissioner in Travis County, serving two terms as Texas State Treasurer, and finally serving as the Governor of Texas;
Governor Richards revitalized the Texas economy, which yielded two percent growth when the United States economy was shrinking; she streamlined Texas’ government and regulatory institutions for business and the public; she revitalized and positioned Texas’ corporate infrastructure for the explosive economic growth it experienced later in the decade; and she saved Texas taxpayers more than $6 billion; and
[Governor] Richards inspired an entire generation of young women, admonishing them with the words “well-behaved women rarely make history.”Referencing her role as an icon, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) stated, “Ann Richards first came to national attention to many as the Texas State treasurer, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 National Democratic Convention. Serving as the Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995, Governor Richards was widely acknowledged as an inspirational national leader, civil rights advocate, and role model. Her political philosophy was one of government openness and was noted for her unprecedented appointments of women and minorities to important positions.” Rep. Shays also highlighted the future opening of The Ann Richards School for Young Leaders, saying that the institution, “will serve as a college preparatory school for girls in grades 6 through 12. The curriculum will focus on math, science, and technology. This initiative is one of many lasting tributes to Governor Richards’ all-encompassing devotion to the citizens of Texas.”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated, “Ann Richards expanded the realm of what is possible for women. As she loved to say: ’A woman’s place is in the dome.’ She is certainly smiling down on us today. As more women than ever rise to elective office, we owe a great debt to Ann Richards for helping to blaze the trail…From health care, to education, to opening the doors of government to all, Ann Richards was one of our nation’s most fierce champions for expanding opportunity.”