Title: Commemorating the life of William D. Ruckelshaus.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
This resolution expresses sorrow at the death of William Ruckelshaus (the founding administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Nixon) and honors him for his principled service to our nation, his commitment to the rule of law, and his work to ensure a livable planet for future generations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 753 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 753

           Commemorating the life of William D. Ruckelshaus.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 9, 2019

 Ms. Jayapal (for herself, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Ms. 
Herrera Beutler, Mr. Newhouse, Mrs. Rodgers of Washington, Mr. Kilmer, 
   Ms. Schrier, Mr. Smith of Washington, and Mr. Heck) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight 
                               and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
           Commemorating the life of William D. Ruckelshaus.

Whereas William D. Ruckelshaus was born on July 24, 1932, in Indianapolis, 
        Indiana, the son of Marion Doyle and John K. Ruckelshaus;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus served for two years in the United States Army, as a 
        drill sergeant at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. (cum 
        laude) in 1957 and from Harvard Law School with an LL.B. in 1960;
Whereas, in his early career, Mr. Ruckelshaus served as deputy attorney general 
        of Indiana, where he helped draft the State's first air pollution 
        control laws and obtained court orders to prohibit industries and 
        municipalities from polluting the State's water supply;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus was a longtime resident of Seattle, having moved his 
        family to the Seattle area in 1975 to serve as Vice President of Legal 
        Affairs for Washington State-based timber company Weyerhaeuser, and 
        became a leading Northwest voice for the environment;
Whereas, in 1969, former President Richard Nixon appointed Mr. Ruckelshaus 
        assistant attorney general in charge of the Civil Division of the 
        Department of Justice;
Whereas, in 1970, President Nixon appointed Mr. Ruckelshaus to serve as the 
        founding administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 
        which he returned to lead again from 1983-1985;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus helped build the EPA from the ground up, devising its 
        enforcement strategy and later developing air-pollution controls, 
        holding companies and cities responsible for water pollution and banning 
        the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) for domestic 
        agriculture, a major factor in the survival and rebounding of the bald 
        eagle;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus was named by Time magazine in 2008 as among the best 
        Cabinet secretaries in United States history for his work focusing the 
        EPA's mission and drawing significant public support and visibility for 
        the agency;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus later said of his time at the EPA: ``At EPA, you work 
        for a cause that is beyond self-interest and larger than the goals 
        people normally pursue; You`re not there for the money, you're there for 
        something beyond yourself'';
Whereas, in 1973, Mr. Ruckelshaus returned to the Department of Justice to serve 
        as the acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and then 
        as top deputy to Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson, where he 
        successfully pursued corruption charges against Vice President Spiro 
        Agnew;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus joined Attorney General Elliot Richardson in resigning 
        and refusing to implement President Nixon's unlawful order to fire the 
        independent special prosecutor investigating Watergate in the 1973 
        events known as the ``Saturday Night Massacre'';
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus' diverse private sector career included 12 years as 
        chief executive of Browning-Ferris Industries, where he led the company 
        to shift away from the business of hazardous waste disposal and toward 
        recycling operations;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus was appointed in 2007 by Washington State Governor 
        Christine Gregoire as the first leader of the Puget Sound Partnership, 
        an environmental agency in Washington State, to organize the cleanup of 
        the Puget Sound and salmon recovery;
Whereas the William D. Ruckelshaus Center was established as a joint effort 
        between the University of Washington and Washington State University to 
        foster collaborative public policy in Washington State and the Pacific 
        Northwest and continues to carry on Mr. Ruckelshaus' legacy by assisting 
        public, private, Tribal, nonprofit, and other leaders to build 
        consensus, resolve conflicts, and develop innovative, shared solutions;
Whereas President Barack Obama awarded Mr. Ruckelshaus the Presidential Medal of 
        Freedom in 2015, the highest civilian honor in the United States, 
        recognizing his service to the country;
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus died on November 27, 2019, at the age of 87 at his home 
        in Seattle, Washington; and
Whereas Mr. Ruckelshaus is survived by his wife, Jill Ruckelshaus, their 
        children, Jennifer and William Ruckelshaus and Robin Kellogg, his 
        daughters, Catherine and Mary Ruckelshaus, his sister, Marion 
        Ruckelshaus Bitzer, and 12 grandchildren: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors William D. Ruckelshaus for his principled 
        service to our Nation, his commitment to the rule of law 
        throughout his career, and his work to ensure a livable planet 
        for future generations; and
            (2) expresses profound sorrow at the death of William D. 
        Ruckelshaus and offers condolences to his family, friends, and 
        colleagues.
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