A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable James Mountain Inhofe, former Senator for the State of Oklahoma.

Bill: 118-sres-765
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK]
Introduced: 2024-07-11
Policy area: Congress
Subjects: Congressional tributes

Members of Congress

Oklahoma
Latest action: action_date: 2024-07-12
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.

Summaries:
action_date: 2024-07-11
action_desc: Passed Senate
text: <p>This resolution expresses the sorrow of the Senate upon the announcement of the death of James M. Inhofe, former Senator for the state of Oklahoma.</p>

tv_txt: III 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 765 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 11 (legislative day, July 10), 2024 Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mr. Mullin , Mr. Schumer , Mr. McConnell , Ms. Baldwin , Mr. Barrasso , Mr. Bennet , Mrs. Blackburn , Mr. Blumenthal , Mr. Booker , Mr. Boozman , 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. Cotton , 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. Lee , Mr. Luján , Ms. Lummis , Mr. Manchin , Mr. Markey , Mr. Marshall , Mr. Menendez , Mr. Merkley , Mr. Moran , 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 Relating to the death of the Honorable James Mountain Inhofe, former Senator for the State of Oklahoma.

Whereas James M. Inhofe was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on November 17, 1934, to Perry Dyson Inhofe and Blanche Phoebe Mountain; Whereas James M. Inhofe moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his family in 1942, graduated from Central High School in 1953, and later graduated from the University of Tulsa; Whereas James M. Inhofe served in the United States Army from 1957 to 1958, stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia; Whereas James M. Inhofe became a licensed pilot in 1958; Whereas James M. Inhofe married Kay Kirkpatrick on December 19, 1959; Whereas, in 1966, James M. Inhofe was first elected to public office to serve on behalf of the people of Oklahoma; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1967 to 1969, during which he sat on banking, industrial development, insurance, and revenue and taxation committees and introduced and passed 18 bills in the fields of insurance, real estate, and finance; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a member of the Oklahoma Senate from 1969 to 1977, during which he served as the minority leader for the State Senate Republican Caucus from 1974 to 1977; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as the 32nd Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, from 1978 to 1984, during which he— (1) led Tulsans to approve a bond issue that modernized the infrastructure of the city; (2) led the construction of a series of low-water dams on the Arkansas River, including the Zink Dam constructed in 1982; (3) led an effort to revamp the trash collection system; and (4) created the 911 emergency call system for Tulsa; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a Member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a member of— (1) the Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives from 1987 to 1991; (2) the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994; (3) the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control of the House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994; (4) the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives from 1989 to 1994; and (5) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives from 1993 to 1994; Whereas James M. Inhofe ended the secrecy of discharge petitions in the House of Representatives by introducing House Resolution 134, 103rd Congress, agreed to September 28, 1993, relating to amending the rules of the House of Representatives to cause the publication of Members signing a discharge motion, a reform that remains in place today; Whereas James M. Inhofe was elected on November 8, 1994, in a special election and sworn in as a Senator on November 17, 1994, the date of his 60th birthday; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a Member of the United States Senate from 1994 to 2023, winning reelection in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020; Whereas James M. Inhofe, serving as the Senator from Oklahoma on April 19, 1995, the date of the Oklahoma City Bombing, embodied the Oklahoma Standard in his subsequent efforts to support the recovery of Oklahoma City; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as the Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate from 2003 to 2007 and 2015 to 2017; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate from 2018 to 2021; Whereas James M. Inhofe also served as a member of— (1) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate from 1995 to 2023, including as Ranking Member from 2013 to 2015 and 2021 to 2023; (2) the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate from 1995 to 2023, including as Ranking Member from 2007 to 2013; (3) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate from 1995 to 2003; (4) the Committee on Indian Affairs from 1997 to 2005; (5) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate from 2009 to 2011, and 2013 to 2015; (6) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate from 2017 to 2019; and (7) Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate from 2017 to 2023; Whereas James M. Inhofe served as the Co-Chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption from 2009 to 2014; Whereas James M. Inhofe, who fought tirelessly for the aviation community throughout his life, was a private pilot with more than 11,000 flight hours; Whereas some of the most notable congressional feats for aviation of James M. Inhofe include— (1) enacting third-class medical reform; (2) enhancing protections for general aviation pilots; (3) supporting job opportunities and retirement security for commercial pilots; (4) championing a strong aviation workforce for the 21st century; and (5) protecting contract towers and advocating for needed investments in general aviation and commercial aviation airport infrastructure; Whereas, in June 1991, James M. Inhofe recreated the historic flight around the world of Oklahoman Wiley Post by flying a twin–engine Cessna 414 from Washington, D.C., to Iceland, to Berlin, to Moscow, to several sites across the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and back to Alaska; Whereas James M. Inhofe attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin for 43 years and was awarded the 2022 R.A. Bob Hoover Trophy by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association; Whereas James M. Inhofe worked tirelessly throughout his career in the Senate to better the infrastructure of the United States and Oklahoma by championing highway reauthorization bills and water resources infrastructure legislation that provided historic investments to build a 21st-century transportation network to support a 21st-century economy; Whereas James M. Inhofe was the driving force behind major transportation infrastructure investments across the State of Oklahoma, including the rebuild of the I–40 Crosstown Project in Oklahoma City, the modernization of the Tulsa-West Tulsa Levees in Tulsa County, and boosting economic activity at inland ports along the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in Eastern Oklahoma; Whereas, throughout his congressional career, James M. Inhofe has proudly championed the men and women that serve in the Armed Forces, focused Federal investment to support military readiness, implemented the National Defense Strategy, and promoted opportunities for military spouses; Whereas James M. Inhofe consistently fought to grow the 5 military bases located in Oklahoma, protecting each from the 1995 and 2005 base realignment and closure process, including— (1) Altus Air Force Base; (2) Fort Sill; (3) McAlester Army Ammunition Plant; (4) Tinker Air Force Base; and (5) Vance Air Force Base; Whereas James M. Inhofe fought to block efforts to privatize military commissaries to ensure members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families would be able to continue to enjoy their benefits; Whereas James M. Inhofe has voted on and authored more than half of all the annual National Defense Authorization Acts enacted by Congress since 1961; Whereas the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023 was named the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 as a testament to his leadership and partnership on the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, and his many decades of dedicated service to the people of Oklahoma, members of the Armed Forces, and the United States; Whereas James M. Inhofe was a champion for veterans throughout his career, including— (1) by enacting legislation allowing independent, third-party inspectors at hospitals of the Department of Veterans Affairs; (2) by increasing accountability by giving directors of medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs the ability to fire poorly performing employees; and (3) in Oklahoma, by adding a first-of-its-kind, regional behavioral health center at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Center in Muskogee, and opening a brand-new inpatient facility in Tulsa; Whereas James M. Inhofe championed the enactment of the 75th Anniversary of WWII Commemoration Act ( Public Law 115–433 ), which established a commemorative program to honor veterans, educate the public about the history of World War II, highlight the service of the men and women who served the United States on the home front during the war, recognize the contributions of our allies, and remember the horrors of the Holocaust; Whereas James M. Inhofe knew well the significant and strategic importance that Africa plays to the United States and the rest of the world, especially in the worldwide fight against terrorism; Whereas James M. Inhofe conducted 172 visits to African countries as a Senator, more than any other Senator in history; Whereas James M. Inhofe first visited Africa in 1998, when he visited Nigeria, Benin, and Ivory Coast, and his final visit was in 2022, when he visited Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda; Whereas James M. Inhofe, who long advocated for the development of a single military command whose focus would be solely on Africa, was vital in the effort to stand up United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), which has enabled the United States to enhance existing initiatives that help African nations; Whereas James M. Inhofe worked tirelessly to advocate in the Senate on behalf of the Western Saharans and their right to self-determination; Whereas James M. Inhofe worked on a bipartisan basis to enact major legislation, including— (1) the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users Act of 2005 ( Public Law 109–59 ), authorizing Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit from 2005 to 2009; (2) the Water Resources and Development Act of 2007 ( Public Law 110–114 ), which included provisions continuing cleanup of the Tar Creek Superfund Site by directing the Environmental Protection Agency to include resident relocation in its upcoming remediation plan, and provided the legal authority required to include voluntary relocation in the plan; (3) the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 ( Public Law 111–172 ), to end the reign of terror of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army in eastern Congo and central Africa; (4) the Pilot’s Bill of Rights ( Public Law 112–153 ), enacted in 2012, which protects general aviation pilots and made the aviation certification action process fairer; (5) the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act ( Public Law 114–182 ), enacted in 2016, which was the first major reform to the Toxic Substances Control Act ( Public Law 94–469 ) since the Toxic Substances Control Act was enacted in 1976; and (6) the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or the FAST ACT ( Public Law 114–94 ), enacted in 2016, which reauthorized surface transportation programs from 2015 to 2020, accelerating construction of infrastructure across the United States, and made the largest single infrastructure investment in Oklahoma history; Whereas, on November 16, 2018, James M. Inhofe became the longest serving Senator for the State of Oklahoma; Whereas on January 3, 2023, James M. Inhofe retired from the Senate, having served in the Senate for more than 28 years and in public service for 52 years; Whereas James M. Inhofe considered his staff a part of his family and lovingly referred to his former staff as has beens ; Whereas 34 of his Senate staff loyally served more than a decade alongside him; Whereas the family of James M. Inhofe recalls that while he was proud of his many policy accomplishments, he always felt his greatest achievement was his has beens , who he knew were central to his effectiveness; Whereas James M. Inhofe served with intelligence, dignity, and grace, and never wavered in his commitment to God, family, country, and Oklahoma; Whereas, on November 10, 2013, James M. Inhofe was preceded in death by his son, Perry; and Whereas, on July 9, 2024, at the age of 89, James M. Inhofe died, leaving behind his wife, Kay, his 3 loving children, Jimmy, Molly, and Katy, 12 grandchildren, and a legacy of steadfast love for and service to the people of Oklahoma: Now, therefore, be it

That— (1) the Senate— (A) has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable James M. Inhofe, former Senator for the State of Oklahoma; and (B) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate— (i) communicate this resolution to the House of Representatives; and (ii) transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of the Honorable James M. Inhofe; and (2) when the Senate adjourns on the date of adoption of this resolution, the Senate stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the Honorable James M. Inhofe.