[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1894-E1895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 1, 1996

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to our 
distinguished colleague, Patricia Schroeder. Pat is retiring at the end 
of

[[Page E1895]]

this term after a remarkable 24-year career in the House of 
Representatives. She began her career in Denver as a lawyer and women's 
rights activist. She brought an activist's passion and commitment to 
the Congress where she has fought for the rights of women, children, 
families, and all Americans for nearly a quarter of a century. Pat has 
been a friend and colleague and she will be sorely missed.
  Pat has left an indelible mark on the Congress which has allowed all 
women who have followed her to enter with greater equality and respect. 
She is the most senior woman Member of the House and one of the 
original founders of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. She 
cochaired the caucus from 1979 until 1995. She has been called an icon 
of the women's movement and has even been named to the National Women's 
Hall of Fame. One of her own personal favorite claims to fame, however, 
is that Oliver North has labeled her as one of the country's 25 most 
dangerous politicians.
  Pat has authored and overseen the passage of some of the most 
important legislation affecting the lives of all Americans. Such 
legislation includes several which I am honored to have cosponsored: 
the Violence Against Women Act, the Economic Equity Act, the Breast and 
Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act, and the National Child 
Protection Act. Pat was also one of the original cosponsors of the 
landmark Family and Medical Leave Act.

  I have been particularly honored to work with Pat on the Judiciary 
Committee. Together we have worked to stem the tide of Republican 
assaults against the rights of the American public. Pat has brought her 
profound knowledge of the law and policy to her work as the ranking 
Democrat on the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property and as 
a member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution. She has used her 
position on the Judiciary Committee to fight for the passage of the 
equal rights amendment, to expand the access of women to quality health 
care and reproductive services, to combat employment discrimination, 
and to protect intellectual property rights here and abroad. She is a 
wise and formidable associate and I will greatly miss her working at my 
side.
  Pat has also paved the way for women in the Congress by opening the 
door to the once male bastion of military defense. Pat has been a 
strong and sometimes lone progressive voice on national security issues 
since taking office. She joined the National Security Committee in 1973 
as an antiwar activist and has provided votes of reason ever since 
against such measures as Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, the B-2 
bomber, the MX missile and other nuclear weapons systems. She has been 
a proponent of nuclear test ban laws, defense burdensharing, and the 
base closings of 1989. In 1991, Pat led the inquiry into the now 
infamous Tailhook Scandal which resulted in the resignation of Navy 
Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett. Her long struggle to see women soldiers 
in combat roles came to fruition when the Pentagon announced that women 
aviators were allowed to fly combat missions for the first time in 
1993.

  Pat's wit and quick tongue have changed the nature of political 
dialog in America. Her nickname for Ronald Reagan, the Teflon 
President, has become infamous. She is leaving the House with this same 
passion and vigor. In the past few weeks she has strongly defended the 
record of progressives in Congress, she has fought vigorously against 
the attempt to override President Clinton's veto of the partial birth 
abortion ban, and she has introduced a package of new legislation on 
safe motherhood. Pat's wit, intellect, dedication, and passion for what 
is right will be greatly missed in the Judiciary Committee, the 
Democratic Party, the House of Representatives, and the Congress as a 
whole. I have greatly enjoyed working with her for these past 24 years 
and I wish her luck in all her future endeavors.

                          ____________________