[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1845-H1846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO BELLA ABZUG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Kennelly) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. KENNELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to one of 
the greatest women who ever served in the Congress of the United States 
of America, Bella Abzug of New York, who died today.
  I remember when I first was considering running for Congress I went 
to New York to seek Bella Abzug's counsel. What I got was one of the 
most intense question and answer sessions of my life.
  Why was I running?
  What did I really care about?
  Was I willing to fight for women and for families?
  Bella wanted to make sure that I could answer those questions to her 
satisfaction.
  Today when I was here in the Congress, we were voting all day, today 
I stopped down below this Chamber and stopped for a few moments for 
lunch, and I saw Carolyn Maloney, a woman who represents New York City 
like Bella did, and she said, ``Did Bella treat you like she treated 
me, saying are you tough enough, are you strong enough, do you care 
enough about representing your people?''
  And I said, ``Carolyn, she asked me all those questions that she 
asked you: Were we tough enough, were we strong enough to represent the 
people of the United States of America?'' And I think that Carolyn 
Maloney and I think that Barbara Kennelly could answer those questions 
yes, we were tough enough, we were strong enough.
  Could we do it in the style of Bella Abzug? No.
  Could we be so delightful, in how she could fight for those fights 
for the families of America? Probably not.
  But do we look at her as our leader? Yes, we did.
  It is worth remembering today what it was about when Bella ran for 
Congress, about what drew me and dozens of other women to look at her 
as a touchstone, to look at her as someone who we could look to and 
then run for Congress. It was her strength, her commitment, it was her 
passion, Bella Abzug's conviction about what she believed in.
  Yes, many of us who entered public life after her, we wanted to be in 
her footsteps, but we found different ways to get where she wanted to 
go, different ways to express ourselves, different ways to approach 
issues. But our differences were of style, not of substance.

  Bella was, for many of us, our inspiration.
  I would have to say to you today that I think about Bella, I think 
about where she was and where I was, where so many of us were that come 
to this body, work so hard from early morning until late night. We have 
to say that she was always our conscience. We always wanted to work as 
hard as she did, to care as much as she did, to really be as committed 
as Bella Abzug was for the families of the United States of America.
  Today we should not only mourn her death, but I stand here tonight, 
Mr. Speaker, and say to you we should recommit ourselves to her vision 
of an America where men and women have equal chances, where ordinary 
citizens could hold their government accountable.
  Bella Abzug would say, what is happening, where are we, what are we 
about? And she would demand answers. She knew that the men and women 
and their families had to have those answers.
  Did we ever live up to what Bella thought possible? I stand here 
tonight feeling very badly about her death. Talked to Bella over the 
years, talked to her so often. Did I ever reach to where she thought I 
should reach? Probably not. But I have to say to you that she was there 
for all of us, especially for we women who came to the Congress, to 
make sure that we understood that we had to care about what we were 
representing. Everybody in our districts, we all, every man and woman 
that comes to this body represents everybody in their districts. But 
when we women come, we have to make sure, because there are many fewer 
of us, that we represent women and families. And she understood that so 
clearly, and she made that so clear to us. Because we were so few, we 
had to make our argument to be so absolutely on the mark.
  And I have tried to do that, and I used to say to Bella, ``Look, I 
don't talk like you, I'm not as extreme as you, I'm not as exciting as 
you, I'm not as compelling as you. But I am here, like you, to 
represent all the families, all the children of the United States of 
America.''
  Do we win some of those fights? Of course we did. We have absolutely 
won many of those fights, and what we cared about she cared about, and 
I look at Bella now and I think that she held a standard for me all 
these years, a standard to make sure that I could do as well as I can 
do. Did I do ever as much as she wanted me to do? Of course I did not. 
Anybody who served in this House, we could never do as much as Bella 
wanted us to do. But what Bella Abzug made us do was know that we could 
do better, that we could work harder, that we could get up early in the 
morning, that we could work later in the day, that we could take care 
of the families of the United States of America, that we could take 
care of the children.
  I can remember one day when I did not know Bella. It was a day that I 
feel like I feel today, I feel so badly about this woman who was so 
wonderful. Bella Abzug was an absolutely wonderful woman.
  I had another wonderful woman in my life, and her name was Ella 
Grasso, Governor of the State of Connecticut. I was Secretary of State 
in her administration, and she always made me feel wonderful like Bella 
did. She always also wanted me to do better, to work harder, to get 
more done, and I kept trying. But she was the first Governor that ever 
served, the first woman in

[[Page H1846]]

the United States of America who served as Governor of the State of 
Connecticut in her own right, and she knew Bella Abzug because they 
served together in the Congress, and Ella died earlier than she should 
have died. She died of cancer when she was Governor of the State of 
Connecticut. And of course Ella was Governor, and I do not even think 
Bella was Congresswoman at that time. But I can remember I was 
Secretary of the State of Connecticut, and I was very involved in 
Ella's funeral, and there was not a lot of Congress people at Ella's 
funeral. But guess what? Bella Abzug came to Ella's funeral. She 
understood a good woman. And I am standing here tonight telling you we 
had a wonderful women with Bella Abzug, and I say with sadness, but 
with great pride, we needed her when we had her, we will miss her.
  Bella Abzug, I loved you. I just hope I can do as much as you want me 
to do

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