H. Res. 42
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
February 27, 2007.
Whereas Dorothy Ann Willis Richards, the First Lady of 
Texas politics, an American icon and patriot, who 
touched the lives of Texans and Americans across the 
Nation, passed away September 13, 2006, after a valiant 
fight with esophageal cancer; 
Whereas her political philosophy was one of government 
openness and she was a forceful champion for economic 
and social justice for all Americans, opening Texas gov-
ernment to all Texans, including African Americans, His-
panics, women, and the disadvantaged; 
Whereas, before her service ended, of her nearly 3,000 ap-
pointments, 46 percent were female, 15 percent were 
black, 20 percent were Hispanic and 2 percent were 
Asian American; 
Whereas her service to Texas and the Nation included teach-
ing Texas schoolchildren, serving as County Commis-
sioner in Travis County, serving 2 terms as Texas State 
Treasurer, and finally serving as the Governor of Texas; 
Whereas Richards raised 4 incredible children, and 8 ‘‘almost 
perfect’’ grandchildren and touched the lives of countless 
friends throughout her life;
•HRES 42 EH 
Whereas Governor Richards revitalized the Texas economy, 
yielding 2 percent growth when the United States econ-
omy was shrinking; she streamlined Texas’s government 
and regulatory institutions for business and the public; 
she revitalized and positioned Texas’s corporate infra-
structure for the explosive economic growth it experi-
enced later in the decade, and she saved Texas taxpayers 
more than $6 billion; 
Whereas Richards reformed the Texas prison system by es-
tablishing a substance abuse program for inmates, reduc-
ing the number of violent offenders released, and increas-
ing prison space to deal with a growing prison popu-
lation; 
Whereas Richards instituted the Texas lottery to supplement 
school finances and she sought to decentralize control 
over education policy to districts and individual cam-
puses, instituting site-based management; 
Whereas Richards inspired an entire generation of young 
women, admonishing them with the words ‘‘well-behaved 
women rarely make history’’; 
Whereas, in 1989, with co-author Peter Knobler, she wrote 
her autobiography ‘‘Straight from the Heart’’, inspiring 
Texans with her personal story and folksy humor; 
Whereas, in 2004, she authored ‘‘I’m Not Slowing Down, 
Winning My Battle with Osteoporosis’’ and became an 
international spokesperson for women battling the dis-
ease; 
Whereas, after her diagnosis with esophageal cancer, Rich-
ards inspired all of us with her determination to win 
against all the odds, and her fearless battle until the very 
last day in her beloved Austin, Texas;
•HRES 42 EH 
Whereas her sense of humor, delivery, and understanding of 
Texas’s ‘‘old boy’’ politics was legendary, charming, and 
disarming; and 
Whereas Governor Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an 
American original, an irreplaceable public servant, a pa-
triot who loved the Nation and its expansive land, ideas, 
and the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes 
and commends Ann Richards’ extraordinary contributions to 
Texas and American public life. 
Attest:
Clerk.