New Jersey Administrative Code › Title - EXECUTIVE ORDERS › Title 55 - CHRIS CHRISTIE › Section - Executive Order No. 276 (2021)

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
Governor Philip D. Murphy
Executive Order No. 276 (2021)
An Order That Flags Fly at Half-Staff in Honor of U.S. Senator Bob Dole
Issued: December 8, 2021.
Effective: December 8, 2021.
WHEREAS, Senator Bob Dole was born Robert Joseph Dole in Russell, Kansas on July 22, 1923, to Doran Dole, who worked in a creamery, and Bina Dole, a seamstress; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole graduated from Russell High School and attended the University of Kansas until he joined the U.S. Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps and was called to active duty to fight in the Second World War; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole suffered a near-fatal injury during a battle in Italy on April 14, 1945, when he was struck by a German shell that shattered his collarbone and part of his spine, leaving him temporarily paralyzed from the neck down; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole received two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star with "V" Device for valor for his heroism; and
WHEREAS, following a protracted period of recovery, Senator Dole attended the University of Arizona in Tucson and later graduated from Washburn University in Kansas, receiving both undergraduate and law degrees in 1952; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole served a two-year term in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1951 to 1953; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1960, where he would serve four terms representing Kansas; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Dole supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1967; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole was elected to the United States Senate in 1968, and served the State of Kansas as a U.S. Senator until 1996; and
WHEREAS, at various times during his storied career in the Senate, Senator Dole served as the Senate Majority and Minority Leader, led the Senate Republican Conference, chaired the Senate Finance Committee, and served on the Senate Agriculture Committee; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole often worked across the aisle, expanding access to food stamps and school lunches, crafting legislation that saved Social Security from insolvency, and successfully shepherding legislation that designated Martin Luther King Day as a federal holiday; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole ran for Vice President of the United States as then-President Gerald Ford's running mate in 1976; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole ran for President of the United States three times and secured the Republican nomination for President in 1996, ultimately coming up short in the general election against incumbent President Bill Clinton; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole was head of the Federal City Council, a group of business, civic, education, and other leaders interested in economic development in Washington, D.C. from 1998 to 2002; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole was involved in many volunteer organizations, including the World War II Memorial Campaign, which raised funds for the building of the World War II Memorial, and the Families of Freedom Foundation, a scholarship fund campaign to pay for the college educations of the families of 9/11 victims; and
WHEREAS, the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas was established in the Senator's name in July 2003 to promote bipartisanship in politics; and
WHEREAS, after retiring from the Senate, Senator Dole created an international school lunch program through the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program to help fight child hunger and poverty in developing countries; and
WHEREAS, in January 2018, Senator Dole was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman; and
WHEREAS, in 1954, Senator Dole had a daughter, Robin, with his first wife, Phyllis Holden; and
WHEREAS, in 1975, Senator Dole married Elizabeth Hanford, who served as a Federal Trade Commissioner, U.S. Secretary of Labor, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Senator from North Carolina, and President of the American Red Cross, and who herself ran for President of the United States in the 2000 election; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole passed away on December 5, 2021 at the age of 98 following a battle with Stage IV lung cancer; and
WHEREAS, Senator Dole will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and colleagues; and
WHEREAS, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on December 5, 2021 directing that all United States flags be flown at half-staff until sunset on December 9, 2021, and declared Senator Dole "a statesman like few in our history and a war hero among the greatest of the Greatest Generation"; and
WHEREAS, as we mourn the passing of Senator Dole, it is appropriate to honor his history of service, his many achievements in the Senate, and his exemplary legacy;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. The flag of the United States of America and the flag of New Jersey shall be flown at half-staff at all State departments, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities during appropriate hours until sunset on December 9, 2021, consistent with federal law and directives, in recognition and mourning of Senator Bob Dole, an esteemed legislator, national figure, and war hero.
2. This Order shall take effect immediately.