I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3145 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2008 

Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

AN ACT 

To designate a portion of United States Route 20A, located 

in Orchard Park, New York, as the ‘‘Timothy J. Russert 

Highway’’. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Timothy ‘‘Tim’’ John Russert was born on 

4 May 7, 1950 in Buffalo, New York, to Elizabeth and 

5 Timothy Joseph Russert. 

6 (2) Tim Russert graduated from Canisius High 

7 School in Buffalo, New York, earned his bachelor’s 

8 degree in political science from John Carroll Univer9 sity in 1972, and his Juris Doctor from Cleveland 

10 State University—Marshall School of Law in 1976. 

11 (3) Tim Russert embarked on a career in public 

12 service with United States Senator Daniel Patrick 

13 Moynihan and the Governor of New York, Mario 

14 Cuomo, from 1977 to 1984. 

15 (4) After his career in public service and New 

16 York politics, Tim Russert began his career in jour17 nalism when he joined NBC in 1984. 

18 (5) In 1991, Tim Russert became the host of 

19 the Sunday morning news program Meet the Press, 

20 the longest-running program in the history of tele21 vision. He would go on to become the longest serving 

22 host of the show. 

23 (6) Throughout his career, Tim Russert re24 ceived 48 honorary doctorates and several awards 

25 for excellence in journalism, including— 


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1 (A) the Edward R. Murrow Award from 

2 the Radio-Television News Directors Associa3 tion; 

4 (B) the John Peter Zenger Freedom of the 

5 Press Award; 

6 (C) the American Legion Journalism 

7 Award; 

8 (D) the Veterans of Foreign Wars News 

9 Media Award; 

10 (E) the Congressional Medal of Honor So11 ciety Journalism Award; 

12 (F) the Allen H. Neuharth Award for Ex13 cellence in Journalism; 

14 (G) the David Brinkley Award for Excel15 lence in Communication; 

16 (H) the Catholic Academy for Communica17 tion’s Gabriel Award; and 

18 (I) an Emmy Award from the National 

19 Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 

20 (7) In 2004, Tim Russert authored the best21 selling autobiography, Big Russ and Me, which 

22 chronicled his life growing up in South Buffalo and 

23 his education at Canisius High School. He is also 

24 the author of Wisdom of our Fathers. 


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1 (8) Tim Russert advocated on behalf of abused 

2 children and voiced the need to protect our Nation’s 

3 young people, serving on the board of directors of 

4 the Greater Washington Boys and Girls Club and 

5 America’s Promise—Alliance for Youth. 

6 (9) Tim Russert sat in the front seat of history, 

7 chronicling the political and societal events that have 

8 defined our time, and serving as a trusted source of 

9 information and analysis for millions of Americans. 

10 (10) Tim Russert was a tireless booster of Buf11 falo, a famous fan of his beloved Buffalo Bills, and 

12 was always proud of his South Buffalo roots, a 

13 source of civic pride in the Western New York com14 munity. 

15 (11) Tim Russert passed away on June 13, 

16 2008. He is survived by his wife, Maureen Orth and 

17 their son, Luke Russert. 

18 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION. 

19 The portion of United States Route 20A located in 

20 Orchard Park, New York, between Abbot Road and Cali21 fornia Road shall be known and designated as the ‘‘Tim22 othy J. Russert Highway’’. 

23 SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 

24 Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, 

25 paper, or other record of the United States to the portion 


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1 of United States Route 20A referred to in section 2 shall 

2 be deemed to be a reference to the Timothy J. Russert 

3 Highway. 

Passed the Senate June 24 (legislative day, June 

23), 2008. 

Attest: NANCY ERICKSON, 

Secretary. 


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