As a Congressman, Bob Dole was known for his ability to reach across the aisle and get things done. In a refreshingly and appropriately bipartisan move Tuesday, the House approved a bill that had already sailed through the Senate with ease – one that awards former soldier, legislator, and statesman Bob Dole the Congressional Gold Medal.
The Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act
S. 1616, titled the “Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act,” was introduced July 24 by Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) and passed unanimously through the Senate August 3. The version that went to the House was unmodified from the initial introduction, and lists 99 co-sponsors – that’s every member of the Senate that didn’t introduce it!
The House agreed to suspend the standard rules and passed it by voice vote, which means we don’t have vote totals, but it’s probably safe to assume that it faced no more controversy in the second body of Congress than in the first. The Act will still go before President Donald Trump before becoming law, but it’s quite unlikely that President Trump will veto a bill that made it so smoothly through Congress and grants a Republican statesman loved by many on both sides of the aisle one of the highest civilian awards possible.
Bob Dole: Soldier, Legislator, Legend
Born in Russell, Kansas, on July 22, 1923, Robert Joseph Dole has seen and done a lot in his 94 years. For those who haven’t kept up with his life, S. 1616 lists quite a few of his achievements. Bob grew up during the Great Depression and studied pre-med at the University of Kansas, where he played basketball, football, and ran track. He joined the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, and in 1970, they named him “Man of the Year.”
Bob Dole left school voluntarily to enlist in the U.S. Army during WWII and took a serious injury while trying to save another soldier. Despite the grave nature of his wounds, he recovered and received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with an Oak Cluster. He was also awarded an American Campaign Medal, a European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and a World War II Victory Medal.
Mr. Dole later went back to school and studied law at Washburn University, but was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1951. He served his state there until 1953, and then again in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969. In 1969, Mr. Dole was elected to the U.S. Senate, and there he remained until 1996. Throughout his years in the Senate, he served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chairman of the Finance Committee, Senate Minority Leader, and Senate Majority Leader.
While serving in Congress, Bob Dole gained a reputation for his ability to reach across the aisle and embrace bipartisanship to get things done. It is only fitting, then, that the Act that grants him the Congressional Gold Medal met with such bipartisan support. He’s been recognized and awarded by several presidents, both Republican and Democrat alike. In 1989, President Reagan said of him: “Whether on the battlefield or Capitol Hill, Senator Dole has served America Heroically.” Bill Clinton later said, “Son of the soil, citizen, soldier, and legislator, Bob Dole understands the American people, their struggles, their triumphs, and their dreams…”
Since leaving Congress, Bob Dole has continued to contribute in many ways. President Bush appointed him co-chair of the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors. He was also the co-creator of the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program to combat child hunger and poverty, and he’s the co-founder of the Bipartisan Policy Center, which works to develop policies suitable for bipartisan support. Bob Dole is a strong advocate for veterans and has volunteered weekly for over a decade with the Honor Flight Network.
The Congressional Gold Medal
To live for nearly a century is to see and do many things – but Bob Dole’s 94 years weren’t spent idly. The Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom are the two highest honors that can be bestowed upon a civilian, and Congress doesn’t award their Gold Medal just for living. The Second Continental Congress voted to award the very first to George Washington in 1776, and since, Congress has awarded the Gold Medal to soldiers, politicians, artists, inventors, and others who have achieved greatness. As the recipient of the 166th Congressional Gold Medal, Bob Dole joins the ranks of George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses Grant, the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Robert Frost, Winston Churchill, and many others we consider the legends of history today.
