The same governing body that has heard debate about the war in Iraq and a slowing economy was not too busy to recognize the Syracuse men’s basketball team Wednesday.

A resolution, introduced by New York Republican Rep. James Walsh in the House of Representatives and New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer in the Senate, honored the team for its achievements during its run to the NCAA championship, said Dan Gage, press secretary for Walsh. Walsh went on the House floor and gave what is called a “one minute” during the day, a time reserved for each representative to get up and speak about a topic, which is read into the congressional record, of his or her choice, and he later introduced the resolution.

The resolution was passed unanimously in both houses the same night and will later be embossed and signed by the president, he said.

“Generally these type of things do not meet any opposition,” Gage said. “But they are not done very often, only on special occasions such as a national championship.”

Senator Schumer introduced the resolution in the Senate on Wednesday because of the Orangemen’s Cinderella season and the fact that they overcame the odds thanks to the tenacity of their play and experience of their coach, said Schumer’s spokesman Blake Zeff.

“We are very proud of the Orangemen for not only representing New York in the way they did but really the whole country in the way they really embodied the American ideals of hard work and toughness,” Zeff said.

Walsh was not alone in his support for the resolution. New York Republican Rep. Jack Quinn also spoke favorably on behalf of Syracuse University partly because two of his staffers are alumni, said Quinn’s press secretary and 1998 SU graduate Mike Tetuan. Tetuan and his co-worker, who graduated from SU as well, are constantly harassing Quinn about how good SU is compared to his alma mater, Siena College, where he was a basketball player.

Tetuan said that this kind of measure normally takes place when a team wins a championship.

When Walsh, a friend of Quinn’s, asked him to speak on behalf of the resolution, Quinn felt it was the right thing to do considering the notoriety and money the win has brought New York, Tetuan said.

“Other states like Georgia have the University of Georgia, Texas has the University of Texas, Syracuse has the closest to a state following in New York,” he said.

Although both houses took time out of their day to vote on a resolution congratulating the team, it served as a pleasant distraction for legislators, as war in Iraq was not far out of their minds with debate on the wartime supplemental bill finishing earlier in the same session, Gage said.

Quinn was not concerned that other legislators might think the resolution was inappropriate at a time when the United States is in engaged in a military operation.

“The resolution was passed at around 9 p.m., after the rest of the day’s business was over,” Tetuan said. “It was not in bad taste but done to thank Syracuse on behalf of troops who were able to focus on something else besides the war when they were watching the games.”

Published on April 14, 2003 at 12:00 pm