WHEREAS, The 32nd President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was the longest serving President of the United States; and     
     WHEREAS, March 4, 2013, marks the 80th anniversary of President Roosevelt's first inauguration; and
     WHEREAS, Roosevelt defied his physical constraints resulting from polio to lead this country successfully through the Great Depression and World War II, as both President and Commander in Chief; and
     WHEREAS, Roosevelt lived by the American ideals of courage, progressivism, and empathy, and recognized that in order to have a future, you must first take care of people in the present; and
     WHEREAS, Through his compassion for the vulnerable, and his recognition of the necessity of a strong middle class, Roosevelt helped mold the American dream into reality, even at a time when millions were overwhelmed by the devastating effects of the economic crisis; and
     WHEREAS, Roosevelt was a great statesman and visionary, who put citizens back to work through the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Farm Securities Administration, which vastly improved infrastructure and public lands, and documented a momentous period in our history for the sake of historic preservation and prevention of that scale of depression from happening again; and
     WHEREAS, Roosevelt's Administration put the nation back onto solid ground and moving forward by developing the Social Security Administration so our elderly could retire with dignity, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which safeguards the savings of Americans; and
     WHEREAS, Even in the darkness of national Depression and World War, he set an unprecedented standard of international cooperation; and
     WHEREAS, President Roosevelt's legacy reminds us that even the most complicated societies are made whole by a few simple truths – that freedom and justice exist when it exists for all, anyone can find courage when it is needed, and treating others as we would like to be treated is at the heart of a fair and prosperous society;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate recognize and honor President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his continuing legacy of cooperation, courage, compassion, and statesmanship.