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

4WHEREAS, Mr. Robert W. Edgar was born in Philadelphia on May
529, 1943, and grew up in Springfield, Delaware County; and

6WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar earned a bachelor of arts degree from
7Lycoming College in Williamsport and a master of divinity degree
8from Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey;
9and

10WHEREAS, In 1974, Mr. Edgar was elected to the United States
11House of Representatives to represent the 7th Congressional
12District of Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia; and

13WHEREAS, During his six terms in the United States House of
14Representatives, Mr. Edgar led efforts to improve public
15transportation, fought wasteful water projects and authored the
16community right-to-know provision of the Superfund legislation,
17among other things; and

18WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar served on the House Select Committee on
19Assassinations that investigated the deaths of President John F.

1Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and

2WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar also served on the Veterans Affairs
3Committee, working on readjustment counseling to treat post-
4traumatic stress disorder and treatment for Agent Orange; and

5WHEREAS, In recent years, Mr. Edgar worked with the Ford
6Foundation to help the civilians in Vietnam affected by Agent
7Orange, especially the multitudes of children with genetic
8defects who have been abandoned and essentially warehoused in
9makeshift orphanages; and

10WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar sat on the boards of several
11organizations, including the National Coalition on Health Care,
12the Environment and Energy Study Institute, the National
13Foundation on Alternative Medicine, Drew University and the
14National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy; and

15WHEREAS, In May 2007, Mr. Edgar became the president and CEO
16of Common Cause; and

17WHEREAS, Prior to assuming the leadership of Common Cause,
18Mr. Edgar served for seven years as secretary-general of the
19National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, the
20leading United States organization in the movement for Christian
21unity that advocates for progressive social policies and has a
22particular focus on eliminating poverty; and

23WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar also previously served as president of the
24Claremont School of Theology for ten years and as a part-time
25chaplain at the Federal penitentiary in Lewisburg; and

26WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar's wide-ranging career has also included
27pastorates at United Methodist congregations and stints as a
28teacher, college chaplain, community organizer and director of a
29think tank on national security issues; and

30WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar was the author of Middle Church, a call to

1progressive people of faith to take back the moral high ground
2from the extremists and make America a better and less divided
3country; and

4WHEREAS, As a minister at Drexel, Mr. Edgar founded the
5People's Emergency Center, a nonprofit social services agency
6for homeless families which includes a food kitchen and a center
7to help people find jobs; and

8WHEREAS, For his exemplary public service, Mr. Edgar received
9five honorary doctoral degrees; and

10WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar passed away on April 23, 2013, and is
11survived by his wife of 48 years, Merle, and their sons, Andrew,
12David and Rob and their families; and

13WHEREAS, Mr. Edgar will be remembered and admired for his
14deep commitment to social justice and strengthening our
15democracy; therefore be it

16RESOLVED, That the Senate honor the life and express
17condolences upon the passing of Robert W. Edgar, former
18Pennsylvania congressman, who died on April 23, 2013; and be it
19further

20RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
21the family of Mr. Edgar.