1Honoring the life and expressing condolences upon the passing of
2Robert W. Edgar, former Pennsylvania Congressman and
3President of Common Cause who died on April 23, 2013.

4WHEREAS, Born in Philadelphia on May 29, 1943, Robert W.
5Edgar grew up in Springfield, Delaware County, received a
6bachelor of arts degree from Lycoming College, Williamsport and
7a master's of divinity degree from the Theological School of
8Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. He also received five
9honorary doctoral degrees; and

10WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar was elected to the House of
11Representatives of the United States Congress in 1974 to
12represent the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, which
13covered parts of Delaware County and Philadelphia; and

14 WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar's congressional class was elected in the

1wake of the Watergate scandal and went on to lead sweeping
2reforms in Congress; and

3WHEREAS, During his six terms in the United States House of
4Representatives, Mr. Edgar led efforts to improve public
5transportation, fought wasteful water projects and authored the
6Community Right to Know provision of Super Fund legislation,
7among other things; and

8WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar served on the House Select Committee on
9Assassinations that investigated the deaths of Dr. Martin Luther
10King, Jr., and President John F. Kennedy. He also served on the
11Veterans Affairs Committee, working on readjustment counseling
12to treat posttraumatic stress disorder and treatment for Agent
13Orange; and

14WHEREAS, In recent years he worked with the Ford Foundation
15to help the civilians in Vietnam affected by Agent Orange,
16especially the multitudes of children with genetic defects who
17have been abandoned and essentially warehoused in makeshift
18orphanages; and

19WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar sat on the boards of several
20organizations, including the National Coalition on Health Care,
21the Environment and Energy Study Institute, the National
22Foundation on Alternative Medicine, Drew University and the
23National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy; and

24WHEREAS, In May 2007, he became the president and CEO of
25Common Cause, one of the nation's most effective grassroots
26advocacy organizations working to restore the core values of
27American democracy, with nearly 400,000 members and supporters,
28a strong presence on Capitol Hill and state chapters in 36
29states; and

30WHEREAS, During his tenure, Mr. Edgar oversaw the relaunch of

1at least seven state chapters, traveled tirelessly to meet with
2and recruit Common Cause supporters and raised the
3organization's national profile and its critical mission of
4accountable government that works for the public interest and
5empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard; and

6WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar worked to limit the influence of big money
7in politics and for more transparency in government. He called
8for a constitutional amendment to stop the flood of corporate
9and super PAC money in the wake of the Citizens United Supreme
10Court decision of 2010; and

11WHEREAS, Prior to assuming the leadership of Common Cause, he
12served seven years as secretary-general of the National Council
13of the Churches of Christ in the USA, the leading United States
14organization in the movement for Christian unity that advocates
15for progressive social policies and has particular focus on
16eliminating poverty and, before that, as president of the
17Claremont School of Theology, where he served for ten years. He
18was also a part-time chaplain at the Federal penitentiary in
19Lewisburg; and

20WHEREAS, His wide-ranging career has also included pastorates
21at United Methodist congregations and stints as a teacher,
22college chaplain, community organizer and director of a "think
23tank" on national security issues; and

24WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar was the author of "Middle Church," a call
25to progressive people of faith to take back the moral high
26ground from the extremists and make America a better and less
27divided country; and

28WHEREAS, As a minister at Drexel, Mr. Edgar founded the
29People's Emergency Center, a nonprofit social services agency
30for homeless families, a food kitchen and a center to help

1people find jobs; and

2WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar is survived by his wife of 48 years,
3Merle, and their sons, Andrew, David and Rob and their families;
4therefore be it

5RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life
6and express condolences upon the death of Robert W. Edgar, who
7will be remembered as a great hero of Pennsylvania liberals and
8admired for his deep commitment to social justice and
9strengthening our democracy; and be it further

10RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
11the family of Robert W. Edgar and to Common Cause.