Congress Votes To Honor Bob Dole

The House voted Tuesday to award the Congressional Gold Medal to former Sen. Bob Dole for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator and statesman.

The medal represents Congress’ highest expression of appreciation for distinguished contributions to the nation.

The Senate has already passed the legislation. Tuesday’s voice vote approval sends the measure to President Donald Trump for his signature.

Dole, 94, represented Kansas in the House for eight years and in the Senate for more than 27 years. He led Republicans in the Senate for more than a decade before resigning in 1996 to focus on his campaign for the presidency. That campaign ended with a loss to Bill Clinton.

Dole was seriously wounded in World War II. He spent nearly three years in and out of hospitals and never regained full use of his right arm. The experience shaped his strong advocacy for veterans and the disabled community while in office, and afterward.

Over the years, he helped raise private contributions to construct the World War II Memorial in Washington and co-chaired a bipartisan commission to investigate problems with health care for the military and veterans. He also was a champion of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which barred discrimination against the disabled in the workplace and greatly enhanced their ability to enjoy everyday life by expanding access to shops, restaurants, hotels and public transportation.

Sen. Pat Roberts and Rep. Lynn Jenkins, both Republicans from Kansas, led the effort to honor Dole.

“In Congress, Senator Dole was known for reaching across the aisle, and I know he must be very proud to see this strong showing of unity,” Jenkins said.