[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H73-H75]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE LATE HONORABLE EDNA F. KELLY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my colleagues, to

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pay tribute to the late Edna F. Kelly, a Member who served in this body 
for 19 years, from 1949 to 1968.
  Yesterday I spoke about her significant contribution in the foreign 
policy arena. I would be remiss, however, if I did not also share with 
my colleagues the gentlelady's achievements on domestic issues.
  Early in the 1950s, she was among the first in Congress to advocate 
for a tax reduction for low-income single parents left with the sole 
responsibility of caring for their dependent children. Congresswoman 
Kelly called attention to the inequity in the Tax Code that permitted 
business deductions for entertainment, but none for child care.
  As she said at the time, there certainly can be no question as to the 
justice for this exemption. This is a measure to protect the family, 
and it is principally a matter to help protect the children.
  Her proposal became part of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
  The gentlewoman from New York can also be credited with promoting the 
first equal pay for equal work bill, which she introduced in 1951. It 
was a landmark effort, which established a new era in the fight for 
women's equality. Congresswoman Kelly was in attendance when President 
Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law June 10, 1963.
  In her later years in Congress, Edna Kelly often spoke with pride of 
her support for measures that helped this Nation expand social and 
economic justice and opened doors to housing, education, voting and 
jobs for all minorities. She received numerous awards, including the 
Mother Gerard Phelan Award from Marymount College; an honorary 
doctorate from Russell Sage College, and her alma mater Hunter 
College's highest honor, the Centennial Medal.
  She set a standard of service that made all New Yorkers proud. As our 
former Governor Hugh Carey said in reference to Congresswoman Kelly, 
``Her legislative ability and outstanding contributions dispel all 
doubts about the leadership potential and political acumen of our 
American womanpower.''
  Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield to my colleague, the 
gentleman from upstate New York (Mr. Solomon), who knew her and worked 
with her.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the gentleman from New 
York for letting me participate in this well-deserved praise of this 
woman. It is a solemn occasion to join my good friend in paying tribute 
to this former Member of this body who graced these halls in this House 
for so long. I am talking about, of course, Congresswoman Edna Kelly 
from New York who did pass away, as the gentleman just said, last month 
at the age of 91.
  Although I did not have the privilege of serving with her, I watched 
her for many years and saw her reputation being so impeccable; her 
dignity and her good nature were just so overwhelming. As a matter of 
fact, my personal secretary today was in the Congress back in those 
days as a staffer, and she just told me before I came over here that 
she was one of the nicest ladies that she had ever met in her life.
  Mrs. Kelly was so quick to dispel those myths that women did not 
belong in politics, with her quick wit and strong character. Back in 
those days there were few women in this Congress, as the gentleman 
knows. In fact, she went on to a distinguished 20-year career, serving 
from 1949 until 1969. All along the way, she won the respect and she 
won the admiration of her colleagues on both sides of this aisle.
  All you need to look at are the comments other Members of the House 
made right on this very floor almost 30 years ago to mark her 
retirement from this Congress. Particularly then Minority Leader and 
soon to be President Gerald Ford of Michigan rose to pay tribute to 
Mrs. Kelly. I think President Ford summed up Edna's service well when 
he said ``Her service has been extraordinary. Her departure means a 
loss of her talents and her charm which will be felt by all of us, on 
both sides of the aisle, in the future.''
  Mr. Speaker, that is so very true. For me, I guess probably the thing 
I admire most and respect Mrs. Kelly for was her commitment to fighting 
communism and its advance in Europe and throughout the world. Her 
service on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where I used to serve 
years ago, and her courage and devotion to protecting our allies, our 
friends in Europe, during the height of the Cold War, are just so, so 
very commendable. She certainly played no small role in standing up to 
the spread of deadly atheistic communism and the eventual rollback that 
would take place in Europe and all over the world some years after her 
departure from this Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, she is another one of those Cold War heroes to which we 
all owe a great deal for our position today as the lone superpower of 
the world. For that she should never be forgotten. But her service to 
her community, as Mr. Towns has outlined so well, in Brooklyn, New 
York, and to all New Yorkers, not to mention her commitment to the 
American family and the welfare of our children, goes absolutely 
unsurpassed on the floor of this chamber.
  So it is for her strength and her commitment, as much as her elegance 
and charm, that she will be remembered and sorely missed. My heart goes 
out to her family and her sister, her two children, eight grandchildren 
and 17 great-grandchildren, one of whom, her daughter Pat Kelly, is a 
longtime faithful employee of this House. Formally she was a staffer on 
the Committee on Rules many years ago, and where I now have the 
privilege of serving.
  So I would just again thank the gentleman from New York. The 
gentleman is just as commendable as Mrs. Kelly was. I have a great deal 
of respect for the gentleman, too, and I appreciate his bringing this 
on the floor today in honor of this wonderful woman.
  I thank the gentleman from New York for the time.
  Mr. TOWNS. I would like to thank my colleague from New York for his 
comments.
  Of course, I think that when we look back at her work, I think we can 
say that she used the philosophy to ``let the work I have done speak 
for me.'' I think she has done a magnificent job, and, of course, let 
me say to the family the fact that we have lost her, but the point is 
that the work that she has done will live on and on and on.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to 
the legacy of Edna Flannery Kelly, a longtime Member of the U.S. House 
of Representatives from Brooklyn, who departed this life on December 
14, 1997 at the age of 91.
  Mrs. Kelly served for 20 years as a Democrat in the House of 
Representatives, from 1949 to 1969, where she was the first woman 
elected to Congress from Brooklyn.
  In a political career that spanned the turbulent decades of the 50s 
and 60s, Edna Kelly earned national acclaim for strengthening U.S. 
foreign policy to meet the threat of communist expansionism in Europe 
and Asia. In addition, her initiatives to improve the economic status 
of American families as well as her support of civil rights 
legislation, paved the way for greater opportunity for all Americans.
  Mrs. Kelly's rise to the national political scene, spoke of her 
strong character, sharp intellect, and gracious charm. She didn't 
consider a career in politics until the unexpected death of her husband 
in 1942. In 1949, she won a special election to the 81st Congress, 
filling the unexpired term of deceased Democratic Congressman, Andrew 
L. Somers. Subsequently, she was reelected to Congress nine times in 
landslide victories by her constituency, and from 1956 to 1968, served 
as the Democratic National Committeewoman from the State of New York.
  Many of Mrs. Kelly's proposals became law during the administrations 
of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. One such measure was an 
amendment to the Mutual Security Act in 1951, which instigated one of 
the largest, international humanitarian efforts to help resettle people 
dislocated by World War II. As a result of the Kelly amendment, more 
than a million and a half displaced persons, most from the Soviet Union 
and Eastern Europe, were able to find new homes and opportunities, 
enabling them to rebuild their lives.
  Mrs. Kelly is remembered for sponsoring the legislation that created 
the Peace Corps, and was also instrumental in establishing the U.S. 
Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
  Her statesmanship and diplomatic skills were recognized by President 
John F. Kennedy, who appointed her a member of the United States 
Delegation to the United Nations in 1963.
  Throughout her service in Congress, Edna Kelly worked to improve 
health and education and the standard of living of American families. 
She also looked to the needs of those most vulnerable--the sick, the 
disabled, the elderly, and the poor and underprivileged.

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  Her constituents benefited greatly from her commitment to them as she 
was able to assess their needs and provide leadership on a variety of 
issues. She often spoke with pride of her support for different 
measures that helped the nation expand social and economic justice as 
well as open doors to housing, education, voting, and jobs for all 
minorities.
  On leaving the House of Representatives, Mrs. Kelly was accorded the 
highest tribute by her colleagues on both sides of the political aisle. 
Speaker John W. McCormack, Tip O'Neill, Gerald Ford, Hugh Carey, Claude 
Pepper, and many others, stood up in the House to praise her 
outstanding legislative service and contributions to American foreign 
policy.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the spirit and legacy of Edna 
F. Kelly, a great American and life-long resident of New York.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, the loss of Edna Kelly, life-long New 
Yorker, is a great one. Mrs. Kelly represented Brooklyn--and was the 
first woman to do so--for 19 years. She was an effective and articulate 
expert on both foreign affairs and domestic issues. A champion of NATO 
and an expert on Soviet Bloc countries, Mrs. Kelly also sponsored 
measures to help refugees and displaced people after World War II and 
helped create the Peace Corps program. She advocated for equal pay for 
equal work for women and for better women's access to child care, 
credit, pensions, housing and educational opportunities.
  Mrs. Kelly's accomplishments were all the greater for the fact that 
she operated in an almost exclusively male political world. Her 
intelligence and tenacity earned the respect and admiration of her 
colleagues. We will all miss her.

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