2017 Assembly Joint Resolution 61
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: recognizing November 19 as Tommy G. Thompson Day in Wisconsin.
Whereas, Governor Tommy George Thompson, a man dedicated to the service of his state and country, has worked throughout his life to advance the public good, having been employed as an attorney and having served in both the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserves, as a Wisconsin state representative, as governor of Wisconsin, and as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services; and
Whereas, Governor Thompson served with honor and distinction and was elected to four terms as the governor of Wisconsin, a record unsurpassed in the history of Wisconsin governors; and
Whereas, in 1987, when Tommy Thompson was inaugurated governor, he inherited a complex state with diverse interests and economic needs; and
Whereas, Governor Thompson worked in a bipartisan manner to enact his bold, groundbreaking agenda of welfare reform, school choice, and health care reform, which led to an unprecedented reduction in welfare in Wisconsin and a rebuilding of Wisconsin's economy; and
Whereas, Governor Thompson pioneered the first welfare-to-work law—Wisconsin Works, or W2—which provided state-supported aid to working families, and ultimately became a national model for welfare reform; and
Whereas, Thompson's commitment to an active social policy agenda helped expand the number of low-income, working Wisconsinites who were able to receive health care coverage; and
Whereas, Thompson's dedication to education brought the nation's first school choice program to Wisconsin, broadening education options for all Wisconsin students; and
Whereas, Thompson's tireless years of service in Wisconsin government instilled the tradition of civic involvement for all Wisconsinites; and
Whereas, Thompson's lifelong dedication to the state of Wisconsin and his never-ending optimism have ensured that Wisconsin has been and always will be moving forward; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin Legislature hereby recognizes November 19, 2017, and subsequent yearly anniversaries as “Tommy G. Thompson Day.”
