HJ363: Celebrating the life of Richard G. Darman.
Patrons-- Vanderhye, Abbitt, Albo, Alexander, Amundson, Athey, BaCote, Barlow, Bouchard, Bowling, Brink, Bulova, Byron, Caputo, Carrico, Cline, Cosgrove, Cox, Crockett-Stark, Dance, Ebbin, Englin, Frederick, Gear, Gilbert, Griffith, Hall, Hamilton, Hargrove, Hogan, Howell, A.T., Howell, W.J., Hugo, Iaquinto, Ingram, Janis, Joannou, Johnson, Jones, D.C., Jones, S.C., Kilgore, Landes, Lewis, Lingamfelter, Lohr, Loupassi, Marsden, Marshall, D.W., Marshall, R.G., Massie, Mathieson, May, Merricks, Miller, J.H., Miller, P.J., Moran, Morgan, Morrissey, Nichols, Nixon, Nutter, O'Bannon, Oder, Orrock, Phillips, Plum, Pogge, Poindexter, Poisson, Purkey, Putney, Rust, Saxman, Scott, E.T., Scott, J.M., Shannon, Sherwood, Shuler, Sickles, Spruill, Suit, Tata, Toscano, Tyler, Valentine, Ward, Ware, O., Ware, R.L., Watts and Wright; Senators: Barker, Blevins, Colgan, Cuccinelli, Deeds, Edwards, Hanger, Herring, Houck, Howell, Hurt, Locke, Lucas, Marsh, Martin, McDougle, McEachin, Miller, J.C., Miller, Y.B., Newman, Norment, Northam, Obenshain, Petersen, Puckett, Puller, Quayle, Reynolds, Ruff, Saslaw, Smith, Stolle, Stosch, Stuart, Ticer, Vogel, Wagner, Wampler, Watkins and Whipple
WHEREAS, Richard G. Darman of McLean, a high-level official and policy adviser in four different presidential administrations, died on January 25, 2008; and
WHEREAS, drawn to the idea of public service while studying at Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1964 and a master’s in business administration in 1967, Richard Darman joined the Nixon administration in 1970 as deputy assistant secretary of health, education and welfare; and
WHEREAS, following his mentor, Elliot Richardson, in 1973 Richard Darman moved to the Defense Department and then quickly to the Justice Department before leaving to work first at a Washington think tank and then a consulting firm; and
WHEREAS, Richard Darman worked briefly in the Ford administration as assistant secretary of commerce for policy and then took another break from government work before becoming executive director of Ronald Reagan’s transition team; he was a key legislative strategist for President Reagan and served as principal deputy to White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III during President Reagan’s first term and then as deputy secretary of the Treasury Department in the second term; and
WHEREAS, known for his great intellect and ambition, Richard Darman had a hand in the development of the Reagan tax cut plan passed in 1981, the restoration of some taxes the following year, the social security bailout plan of 1983, and a major overhaul of the tax code during Reagan’s second term; and
WHEREAS, Richard Darman again left government for a brief time before returning in 1988 to become the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George H. W. Bush, where he was the architect of the plan to raise taxes in order to tackle the federal government’s ballooning deficit; and
WHEREAS, when George H. W. Bush lost the election in 1992, Richard Darman left government service for the final time and became a senior adviser to the Carlyle Group, a Washington-based private-equity investment firm, and chairman of AES Corporation, an Arlington-based company that generates and distributes electric power; and
WHEREAS, savvy in the complex machinery of government policy-making, Richard Darman described himself as “a long-term idealist and a short-term realist,” always trying to find a balance between political expediency and sound policy; and
WHEREAS, Richard Darman will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife of 40 years, Kathleen Emmet; his three sons, William, Jonathan, and Emmet; his mother, sister, brother, and granddaughter; and countless other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Richard G. Darman, an exceptional and dedicated public servant; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Richard G. Darman as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.