MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representatives Sykes, Aguirre, Anderson, Arnold, Bailey, Bain, Baker, Banks, Baria, Barnett, Barton, Beckett, Bell (21st), Bell (65th), Bennett, Blackmon, Bounds, Boyd, Brown, Burnett, Busby, Byrd, Calhoun, Carpenter, Chism, Clark, Clarke, Cockerham, Corley, Crawford, Criswell, Currie, DeLano, Denny, Denton, Dixon, Dortch, Eubanks, Eure, Evans (45th), Evans (91st), Faulkner, Ford, Foster, Gibbs (36th), Gibbs (72nd), Gipson, Guice, Gunn, Hale, Haney, Henley, Hines, Holland, Holloway, Hood, Hopkins, Horan, Horne, Huddleston (15th), Hudson, Hughes, Jackson, Johnson (87th), Johnson (94th), Karriem, Kinkade, Ladner, Lamar, Mangold, Massengill, McGee, McLeod, McNeal, Mettetal, Mickens, Middleton, Miles, Mims, Morgan, Myers, Oliver, Paden, Patterson, Perkins, Pigott, Powell, Read, Reynolds, Roberson, Rogers (14th), Rogers (61st), Rushing, Sanford, Scoggin, Scott, Shanks, Shirley, Smith, Snowden, Staples, Steverson, Straughter, Sullivan, Taylor, Thomas, Touchstone, Tullos, Turner, Walker, Watson, Weathersby, White, Wilkes, Williams-Barnes, Willis, Wilson, Wooten, Young, Zuber
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE LASTING LEGACY OF RETIRING UNITED STATES SENATOR WILLIAM THAD COCHRAN.
WHEREAS, April 1, 2018, will truly be the end of an era in Mississippi politics when longtime United States Senator and Northeast Mississippi native William Thad Cochran will step down from his seat after 46 years representing the Magnolia State in Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, Mississippians owe Senator Cochran a debt of gratitude for his service over the last several decades, for always seeking to make Mississippi a better place for all its residents, and we thank Senator Cochran and wish him a long and well-deserved retirement; and
WHEREAS, Senator Cochran was first elected to the Senate in 1978, becoming the first Republican in more than 100 years to win a statewide election in Mississippi, and he retires as the 10th longest-serving Senator in United States history; and
WHEREAS, Senator Cochran was reelected in 2014 to a seventh six-year term that began in January 2015 as Chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, a post he had held briefly in the mid-2000s and was scheduled to continue through 2018; and
WHEREAS, Senator Cochran previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1973-1978 before winning an election to replace longtime Senator James Eastland, who retired; and
WHEREAS, Cochran has a quiet, stately demeanor and is known for playing piano to relax in his office, and for many years he drew accolades in Washington, D.C., for working across the aisle to get difficult measures passed, and back home for "bringing home the bacon" to Mississippi, due to his successful funding of numerous projects, including federal programs and aid for farmers, buildings and programs at universities, and funding for local governments and federal contracts at Pascagoula's shipyard and military installations; and
WHEREAS, during four decades in Washington, Senator Cochran has tended to pay attention to his interests in Mississippi and to leave national politics to others; and, in Mississippi and other Gulf states, part of Senator Cochran's strong legacy is his response during Hurricane Katrina; and
WHEREAS, as Chairman of Appropriations when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, he used his years of consensus building and working across the aisle to convince a reluctant Congress to provide $29 billion in immediate Katrina relief, including an unprecedented $5 billion in discretionary HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program funds for Mississippi, allowing the state to provide homeowner grants for rebuilding, and his legislative work helped prevent financial and social ruin in Mississippi and Louisiana after the hurricane's destruction; and
WHEREAS, comments from elected officials and community leaders throughout the country showcased the true impact he had on the great State of Mississippi and the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, a true statesman, quiet, thoughtful, extremely intelligent, and possessed of that rare ability to disagree agreeably, Thad Cochran broke the mold of loud, bellicose Southern demagogues and effectively conducted his 46 years of service for the people of Mississippi on Capitol Hill as what Time Magazine cogently called in 2006 "the quiet persuader"; and
WHEREAS, Senator Cochran was a workhorse, keeping up a schedule that colleagues decades later would not attempt, with a schedule broken up into 15- to 30-minute increments, depending on the time of the year, the Senator prioritized meeting personally with everyone who requested a meeting; and
WHEREAS, he believed if someone traveled to Washington, D.C., from Hernando or Pascagoula, Clarksdale or Meridian, it might be their only trip and they should be able to talk to their elected representatives, and while he might be scheduled to meet with cabinet secretaries or foreign leaders, Senator Cochran has been more interested in hearing from families, farmers, educators and local officials on issues that affect them, issues as varied as juvenile diabetes to roads and bridges that are vital for their communities; and
WHEREAS, Senator Thad Cochran leaves a lasting legacy not only in his home region of North Mississippi, but throughout the entire state, and his passion for helping build community spirit throughout this state was unlike any other and he will truly be missed; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to commend our best and brightest representatives of the people of this state, of whom Senator Cochran is as fine as this state has ever had:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize the lasting legacy of United States Senator William Thad Cochran on the occasion of his retirement, and extend to Senator Cochran and his family continued success and happiness in his retirement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to United States Senator Thad Cochran, the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate and the Governor of the State of Mississippi, and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.