III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 58

Commending the Honorable Howard Henry Baker, Jr., formerly a Senator 

of Tennessee, for a lifetime of distinguished service. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2005

Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. BYRD, Mr. REID, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. HATCH, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. 

LUGAR) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 

agreed to 

RESOLUTION

Commending the Honorable Howard Henry Baker, Jr., formerly a Senator of Tennessee, for a lifetime of distinguished service.

Whereas Howard Henry Baker, Jr., son of Howard Henry 

Baker and Dora Ladd Baker, was heir to a distinguished 

political tradition, his father serving as a Member of Congress from 1951 until his death in 1964, his stepmother 

Irene Baker succeeding Howard Baker, Sr. in the House 

of Representatives, and his grandmother Lillie Ladd 

Mauser having served as Sheriff of Roane County, Tennessee; 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. served with distinction as an officer in the United States Navy in the closing months of 

World War II; 
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•SRES 58 ATS 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. earned a law degree from the 

University of Tennessee Law School in Knoxville where, 

during his final year (1948–1949), he served as student 

body president; 

Whereas after graduation from law school Howard Baker, Jr. 

joined the law firm founded by his grandfather in Huntsville, Tennessee, where he won distinction as a trial and 

corporate attorney, as a businessman, and as an active 

member of his community; 

Whereas during his father’s first term in Congress, Howard 

Baker, Jr. met and married Joy Dirksen, daughter of 

Everett McKinley Dirksen, a Senator of Illinois, in December 1951, which marriage produced a son, Darek, in 

1953, and a daughter, Cynthia, in 1956; 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. was elected to the Senate in 

1966, becoming the first popularly elected Republican 

Senator in the history of the State of Tennessee; 

Whereas during three terms in the Senate, Howard Baker, 

Jr. played a key role in a range of legislative initiatives, 

from fair housing to equal voting rights, the Clean Air 

and Clean Water Acts, revenue sharing, the Senate investigation of the Watergate scandal, the ratification of the 

Panama Canal treaties, the enactment of the economic 

policies of President Ronald Reagan, national energy policy, televising the Senate, and more; 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. served as both Republican Leader of the Senate (1977–1981) and Majority Leader of the 

Senate (1981–1985); 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. was a candidate for the Presidency in 1980; 
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•SRES 58 ATS 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. served as White House Chief of 

Staff during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan; 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. served as a member of the 

President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board during 

the Presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. 

Bush; 

Whereas following the death of Joy Dirksen Baker, Howard 

Baker, Jr. married Nancy Landon Kassebaum, a former 

Senator of Kansas; 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. served with distinction as Ambassador of the United States to Japan during the Presidency of George W. Bush and during the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between 

the United States and Japan; 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian award; and 

Whereas Howard Baker, Jr. set a standard of civility, courage, constructive compromise, good will, and wisdom that 

serves as an example for all who follow him in public 

service: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the Senate commends its former colleague, the Honorable Howard Henry Baker, Jr., for a lifetime of distinguished service to the country and confers upon 

him the thanks of a grateful Nation.

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