III 

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. LUJA ́N, 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. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 673 ATS 

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 thirtyninth 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— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 673 ATS 

(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— 

(A) authored the landmark Omnibus Taxpayer 

Bill of Rights (Public Law 100–647), which was enacted into law in 1988; and 

(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; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 673 ATS 

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’’; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 673 ATS 

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 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow 

3 and deep regret the announcement of the death of 

4 David H. Pryor, former Member of the Senate; 

5 (2) the Senate directs the Secretary of the Sen6 ate— 

7 (A) to communicate this resolution to the 

8 House of Representatives; and 

9 (B) to transmit an enrolled copy of this 

10 resolution to the family of David H. Pryor; and 

11 (3) when the Senate adjourns today, it stands 

12 adjourned as a further mark of respect to the mem13 ory of the late David H. Pryor. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS