III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 397 

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Mike Mansfield 

Fellowship Act creating the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 31, 2019 

Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mr. DAINES) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Mike 

Mansfield Fellowship Act creating the Mike Mansfield 

Fellowship Program. 

Whereas the distinguished tenure of Mike Mansfield as Majority Leader of the Senate spanned 16 years, making 

him the longest serving Majority Leader in the history of 

the Senate; 

Whereas Mike Mansfield served as the United States Ambassador to Japan from 1977 to 1988, the longest tenure of 

any United States ambassador anywhere in the world; 

Whereas, while serving as Ambassador, Mike Mansfield was 

fond of reminding the people of the United States and 

Japan that the ‘‘U.S.-Japan relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, bar none’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•SRES 397 IS 

Whereas, in 1994, through the Mike Mansfield Fellowship 

Act (Public Law 103–236; 108 Stat. 428), Congress authorized the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program to build 

a corps of Federal Government employees (in this preamble referred to as ‘‘Mansfield Fellows’’) knowledgeable 

about the language, culture, economy, and politics of 

Japan, so as to enhance mutual cooperation and understanding between the United States and Japan; 

Whereas the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of 

the Department of State provides financial support to 

make possible the deployment of Mansfield Fellows and 

their families to Japan, and the Government of Japan 

provides generous in-kind support, including a 2-month 

home-stay and language training; 

Whereas the first cohort of Mansfield Fellows, recruited from 

across the Federal Government, began their service in 

Japan on September 1, 1996; 

Whereas the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program has created 

a robust network of officials from the Governments of the 

United States and Japan with deep understanding of the 

economic, political, and strategic dimensions of the 

United States-Japan relationship who work together to 

advance the mutual interests of the United States and 

Japan; 

Whereas Mansfield Fellows have served in 52 ministries and 

agencies of the Government of Japan, dozens of Diet offices, and more than a dozen private sector companies 

and nongovernmental organizations in Japan; 

Whereas alumni of the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program 

are currently employed throughout the Federal Government, including the House of Representatives and the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•SRES 397 IS 

Senate, the Departments of State, Commerce, Defense, 

Energy, Transportation, and the Treasury, the Office of 

the United States Trade Representative, the Federal 

Aviation Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as serving in the Army, Air Force, 

Navy, and Marine Corps; 

Whereas, every day, Mansfield Fellows are drawing on their 

experience to enhance United States-Japan bilateral relations and to strengthen United States-Japan cooperation 

around the world to tackle common global challenges; 

Whereas, on April 29, 2015, the Prime Minister of Japan, 

Shinzo Abe, declared before a Joint Session of the United 

States Congress that the United States and Japan have 

forged ‘‘an alliance of hope’’ resting on a foundation of 

shared democratic values and common interests; and 

Whereas the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program has been a 

cornerstone of United States-Japan cooperation and has 

made important contributions to strengthening security, 

economic, and cultural ties between the 2 allies: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) celebrates the 25th anniversary of the pas3 sage of the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Act (Public 

4 Law 103–236; 108 Stat. 428) creating the Mike 

5 Mansfield Fellowship Program; 

6 (2) remembers the contributions of Senator 

7 Mike Mansfield and his wife Maureen to the United 

8 States Senate and to the United States-Japan alli9 ance; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•SRES 397 IS 

1 (3) thanks more than 150 alumni of the Mike 

2 Mansfield Fellowship Program for bringing the ex3 pertise garnered during their time in Japan back to 

4 the United States Government to advance the inter5 ests of the United States; 

6 (4) conveys its appreciation to the people of 

7 Japan for the warm welcome they have given to each 

8 class of Mansfield Fellows; 

9 (5) commends the Government of Japan for 

10 opening its doors to Mansfield Fellows and for pro11 viding steadfast and generous support to the Mike 

12 Mansfield Fellowship Program; and 

13 (6) encourages the Bureau of Educational and 

14 Cultural Affairs of the Department of State and the 

15 Government of Japan to sustain their support for 

16 the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program, which in 

17 turn strengthens the ‘‘alliance of hope’’ and the im18 portant work of the program to further peace, sta19 bility, and prosperity in the world. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS