April 7, 2025
Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Thune, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Alsobrooks, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Banks, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Booker, Mr. Boozman, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Budd, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Collins, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Daines, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Gallego, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hagerty, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Husted, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Justice, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Kim, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Lee, Mr. Luján, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Markey, Mr. Marshall, Mr. McConnell, Mr. McCormick, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Moody, Mr. Moran, Mr. Moreno, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Paul, Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Risch, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Sheehy, Ms. Slotkin, Ms. Smith, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Van Hollen, 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
Honoring the life of the Honorable John Bennett Johnston, Jr., former Senator for the State of Louisiana.
Whereas, on June 10, 1932, John Bennett Johnston, Jr. (referred to in this preamble as Senator Johnston
), was born in Shreveport, Louisiana;
Whereas Senator Johnston graduated from C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, and later attended Washington and Lee University, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Louisiana State University Law School;
Whereas Senator Johnston excelled in his academic pursuits at Louisiana State University Law School, graduating with distinction as a member of the Order of the Coif in 1956;
Whereas Senator Johnston married Mary Hunter Gunn in 1956, and they later had 4 children and 10 grandchildren;
Whereas Senator Johnston served as a First Lieutenant in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and was stationed in Germany from 1956 to 1959;
Whereas Senator Johnston began his career in public service to the State of Louisiana as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1964 to 1968, where he served as floor leader before his election to the Louisiana State Senate, where he served from 1968 to 1972;
Whereas the people of the State of Louisiana elected Senator Johnston to represent the State of Louisiana in the Senate, where he served from 1972 to 1997;
Whereas Senator Johnston served on several important committees throughout his Senate career, including—
(1)
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources;
(2)
the Committee on Appropriations;
(3)
the Committee on the Budget;
(4)
the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship;
(5)
the Special Committee on Aging; and
(6)
the Select Committee on Intelligence;
Whereas his tenure as Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources from 1987 to 1995 cemented the legacy of Senator Johnston as guiding the energy policy of the United States;
Whereas Senator Johnston achieved many legislative triumphs important to the State of Louisiana during his tenure in the Senate, supporting and passing legislation on—
(1)
flood control and hurricane protection;
(2)
natural resource conservation;
(3)
expanding offshore oil and gas drilling off the coast of the State of Louisiana;
(4)
deregulating the natural gas industry; and
(5)
national energy security, including Senate Bill 2166, 102d Congress, a comprehensive energy measure providing for national security and reducing the dependency of the United States on foreign energy;
Whereas Senator Johnston championed legislation to create national wildlife refuges, to preserve more than 120,000 acres of Louisiana-inland wetlands, and to honor the rich history of the State of Louisiana through the establishment of the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park and the Cane River Creole National Historical Park;
Whereas Senator Johnston lived to be 92 years old; and
Whereas, throughout his life, Senator Johnston served the State of Louisiana and the United States with integrity and distinction, and never wavered in his commitment to honorable public service: 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 John Bennett Johnston, Jr. (referred to in this resolution as Honorable Bennett Johnston
), former Senator from the State of Louisiana; 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 Bennett Johnston; and
(2)
when the Senate adjourns on the date of the adoption of this resolution, the Senate stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the Honorable Bennett Johnston.