Word: congressed
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...responding to members of Congress who had made a public plea for oil companies to provide lower-cost home-heating oil to U.S. families squeezed by the rising price of fuel. No U.S.-owned firm stepped forward; Citgo did. (Sunoco has since set up a program that provides free heating oil to 1,100 residents in the Philadelphia area.) Admittedly, it was a chance for Chávez to showcase "one of our revolution's most important principles," as then Venezuelan Ambassador to the U.S. Bernardo Alvarez told TIME in 2006: "the redistribution of oil revenues, especially for the poor...
...fact, probably the most popular reason to propose a resolution appears to be making every day on the national calendar feel extra special. Holidaymaking is an old pastime for legislators. It was the nation's First Congress that kicked off that tradition; in 1789, New Jersey Congressman Elias Boudinot introduced a resolution asking President George Washington to proclaim a national day of giving thanks - which he did, and the holiday stuck. But today's Americans may find some more recent observances to be slightly less universally appealing: Among the red-letter days proclaimed by the past few Congresses are Funeral...
Sometimes Congress sees fit to award a week or month to a particular topic. Such events are often meant to raise awareness for serious illnesses like diabetes, although sometimes, they are used to raise awareness of, say, the plumbing industry. Really lucky causes might get an entire year: 2007 went to the American Society of Agronomy, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. Other resolutions have marked seemingly arbitrary anniversaries, as in the 2008 decision to herald the 63rd birthday of Texas's Big Bend National Park...
...When Congress wants to get something off its chest, it can also pass a resolution to congratulate or to express sympathy. These are often fairly unanimous, like resolutions expressing sympathy for South Asian tsunami victims, or those celebrating teachers, firefighters, mothers, or Toby Keith (U.S. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma called the country musician "a good Democrat" who "reflects his deep admiration for the troops in his hit song 'American Soldier...
...subjects are beneath the notice of a Congressional resolution. Soil, for instance, might be celebrated, as it was in 2008. Or watermelon. Athletes are popular, too. Nothing pleases constituents quite like Congressmen and Senators giving agreeable shout-outs to local sports heroes. Last year, the 110th Congress praised superstar Olympian Michael Phelps; it also celebrated Wichita State University's championship women's bowling team. Legislators, it seems, aren't very picky. Unless of course they are passing actual laws...