III 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 461 

Honoring James L. Oberstar as a remarkable public servant who served 

in Congress with extraordinary dedication and purpose. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2014 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. HARKIN, and Mr. BEGICH) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring James L. Oberstar as a remarkable public servant 

who served in Congress with extraordinary dedication 

and purpose. 

Whereas James L. Oberstar was born on September 10, 

1934, in Chisholm, Minnesota; 

Whereas James L. Oberstar was a distinguished legislator 

who served 36 years in Congress, from 1975 to 2011, as 

a member of the House of Representatives from northern 

Minnesota, making him the longest serving Congressman 

for the State of Minnesota; 

Whereas James L. Oberstar was an expert on public works 

and transportation issues and devoted his public career 

to improving transportation and infrastructure, including 

through his work as a staff member for John Blatnik, 


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•SRES 461 ATS 

member of the House of Representatives from Minnesota, 

from 1963 to 1974; 

Whereas James L. Oberstar was a staunch supporter of the 

iron ore industry in Minnesota and fought tirelessly to 

keep the mines open, protect the rights of workers, and 

improve safety conditions; 

Whereas, throughout his career, James L. Oberstar secured 

Federal funding for local communities for the development of bike lanes, sidewalks, biking trails, and hiking 

trails across Minnesota and the United States; 

Whereas James L. Oberstar was the Chair of the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

Representatives during the 110th and 111th Congress; 

Whereas James L. Oberstar was a supporter of the Federal 

Safe Routes to School Program which improves safety on 

walking and bicycling routes to school and encourages 

children and families to travel between home and school 

by walking or biking; 

Whereas James L. Oberstar introduced H.R. 3311 during the 

110th Congress to provide emergency funding to replace 

the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after its 

tragic collapse in 2007; 

Whereas James L. Oberstar was a strong advocate for improving aviation safety and served as Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

from 1989 to 1994; and 

Whereas James L. Oberstar was a tireless champion of maritime issues, particularly those on the Great Lakes, and 

on May 24, 2011, the shipping vessel the Honorable 


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•SRES 461 ATS 

James L. Oberstar was christened in Duluth, Minnesota: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors James L. Oberstar as a remarkable 

3 public servant who served in Congress with extraor4 dinary dedication and purpose; 

5 (2) remembers the work James L. Oberstar ac6 complished to improve transportation, infrastruc7 ture, and mine safety; and 

8 (3) recognizes the indelible legacy James L. 

9 Oberstar has left on the State of Minnesota and the 

10 United States. 

Æ 


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