Sec. 1076. Sense of Congress on the life and achievements of Dr. James R. Schlesinger
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Congress makes the following findings: The Honorable Dr. James R. Schlesinger was born in New York, New York, on February 15, 1929, graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950 where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa and awarded the Frederick Sheldon Travel Fellowship, and subsequently received from Harvard University his master’s degree in 1952 and doctoral degree in 1956. Dr. Schlesinger married Rachel Line Mellinger in 1954 and had eight children with her before she passed away in 1995.
Dr. Schlesinger is survived by his children Cora Schlesinger, Charles Schlesinger, Ann Schlesinger, William Schlesinger, Emily Schlesinger, Thomas Schlesinger, Clara Schlesinger, and James Schlesinger, Jr., and eleven grandchildren. Dr. Schlesinger was a generous patron of the arts, including helping significantly to establish the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Arlington, Virginia. Dr. Schlesinger was a generous sponsor of higher education, serving on the International Council at Harvard University’s Belfer Center, endowing the Julius Schlesinger Professorship of Operations Management at New York University’s Stern School of Business and the James R.
Schlesinger Distinguished Professorship at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, and sponsoring an ongoing music scholarship at Harvard College in honor of his beloved wife. Dr. Schlesinger was a distinguished statesman-scholar of great integrity, intellect, and insight who dedicated his life to protecting the security of the United States and Western civilization and the liberty of all the people of the United States throughout his highly-decorated and distinguished career spanning seven decades— serving as a professor of economics at the University of Virginia from 1955 until 1963; authoring numerous important scholarly and policy-related publications, including The Political Economy of National Security:
A Study of the Economic Aspect of the Contemporary Power Struggle (1960), Defense Planning and Budgeting: The Issue of Centralized Control (1968), American Security and Energy Policy (1980), America at Century’s End (1989), and most recently, Minimum Deterrence: Examining the Evidence (2013); serving at the RAND Corporation from 1963 until 1969, including as the director of strategic studies; beginning service in the Federal Government in 1969, leading on defense matters as the assistant director and acting deputy director of the United States Bureau of the Budget; serving as a member and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1971 until 1973, working tirelessly to introduce extensive organization and management changes to strengthen the regulatory performance of the Commission; serving as Director of Central Intelligence in 1973, focusing on the agency’s adherence to its legislative charter; and becoming the Secretary of Defense in 1973 at age 44, a position Dr.
Schlesinger held until 1975, during which time he— authored the Schlesinger Doctrine that instituted important reforms to strengthen the flexibility and credibility of the United States nuclear deterrent to prevent war, assure United States allies, and protect the liberties all Americans enjoy; ensuring that the United States maintained essential equivalence with the Soviet Union’s conventional military forces and surging nuclear capabilities; lead the successful development of the A–10 close-air support aircraft and the F–16 fighter; leading the Department of Defense with great skill and prescience during the 1973 Yom Kippur War in which he was key to the United States airlift that, according to Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, meant life for our people ; led the Department of Defense during the 1974 Cyprus Crisis, the closing phase of the Indochina conflict, and the 1975 Mayaguez incident in which his actions helped save the lives of captured Americans; and consulted regularly with and was highly-regarded by the uniformed military; and working tenaciously to strengthen the morale of the military following the United States withdrawal from Vietnam and to stem the defense budget cuts in that challenging period.
In light of his realistic views of the Soviet Union’s power and intentions, Dr. Schlesinger was invited to China as a private citizen in 1975 at the personal request of Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, and upon Mao’s death, was the only foreigner invited by the Chinese leadership to lay a wreath at Mao’s bier. In 1976, President-elect Jimmy Carter invited Dr. Schlesinger to serve as his special advisor on energy during the difficult period of oil embargoes and fuel shortages to establish a national energy policy and create the charter for the Department of Energy and subsequently to serve President Carter as the first Secretary of Energy, successfully initiating new conservation standards, gradual oil and natural gas deregulation, and unifying the nation’s approach to energy policy with national security considerations.
Following his return to private life in 1979, Dr. Schlesinger continued serving tirelessly to the end of his life in a wide array of public service and civic positions, including as a member of President Ronald Reagan’s Commission on Strategic Forces, a member of Virginia Governor Charles Robb’s Commission on Virginia’s Future, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Mitre Corporation, a member of the Defense Policy Board and co-chair of studies for the Defense Science Board, Chairman of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Board, a Director of Sandia Corporation, a Trustee of the Atlantic Council, Nixon Center, and Henry M.
Jackson Foundation, and an original member of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board. In the recent past, Dr. Schlesinger was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Homeland Security Advisory Board, invited by Secretary Robert Gates to lead the Schlesinger Task Force to recommend measures to ensure the highest levels of competence and control of the Nation’s nuclear forces, and invited by Congress to serve as the Vice Chairman of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States to produce the 2009 study, entitled America’s Strategic Posture , which served as the blueprint for the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review of the Department of Defense.
In addition to Dr. Schlesinger’s earned doctorate from Harvard University, he was awarded 13 honorary doctorates, and was the recipient of numerous prestigious medals and awards, including inter alia, the National Security Medal presented by President Carter, the Defense Science Board’s Eugene G. Fubini Award, the United States Army Association’s George Catlett Marshall Medal, the Air Force Association’s H. H. Arnold Award, the Navy League’s National Meritorious Citation, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots’ James H.
Doolittle Award, the Military Order of World Wars’ Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation’s Henry M. Jackson Award for Distinguished Public Service. Dr. Schlesinger’s monumental contributions to the security and liberty of the nation and Western civilization, and to the betterment of his local community should serve as an example to all people of the United States. Congress— has learned with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Dr.
James R. Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Energy, and Director of Central Intelligence; honors the legacy of Dr. Schlesinger’s commitment to the liberty and security of this Nation and the Western community of nations, the betterment of his local community, and his loving family; extends its deepest condolences and sympathy to the family, friends, and colleagues of Dr. Schlesinger who have lost a beloved father, grandfather, and thoughtful leader; honors Dr.
Schlesinger’s wisdom, discernment, scholarship, and dedication to a life of public service that greatly benefitted his community, country, and Western civilization; recognizes with great appreciation that while serving as public servant under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter, Dr. Schlesinger contributed significantly, thoughtfully, and directly to the betterment of United States policies and practices in the areas of national defense, energy, and intelligence; recognizes with great appreciation that after returning to private life, Dr.
Schlesinger continued to serve the Nation selflessly until his passing through his numerous bipartisan contributions to the reasoned public discourse of issues and his leadership on numerous high-level studies sponsored by the White House, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the United States Congress; recognizes with great appreciation Dr. Schlesinger’s exemplary life guided by his commitment to the continuing security and liberty of the United States, and by his honor, duty, and devotion to country and family, scholarship, and personal moral integrity; and expresses profound respect and admiration for Dr.
Schlesinger and his exemplary legacy of commitment to the people of the United States, members of the Armed Forces, and all those who help safeguard the Nation.