[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 21, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H2074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF HON. BARBARA LEE OF CALIFORNIA TO THE HOUSE

  (Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to introduce a 
friend and now a new colleague, Barbara Lee, as the new representative 
of California's 9th Congressional District.
  Congratulations, Barbara. And we are all delighted to welcome you to 
Congress. Barbara, of course, is not unfamiliar with this Chamber or 
these halls. Her years of dedicated service to the people of 
California's 9th Congressional District began with her service as the 
senior adviser and also as chief of staff of our former colleague and 
dear friend, Ron Dellums.

                              {time}  1745

  Although we will miss you, Ron, we know that Barbara is well prepared 
to step into your shoes and to blaze new trails of her own.
  Barbara is and will continue to be an effective representative for 
her constituents. In the 7 years that she served in California State 
legislature, 67 of her bills and resolutions were signed by the 
Governor, impacting a broad spectrum of community concerns; including 
public safety, education, environmental protections, labor, health, and 
women's and children's issues.
  I was privileged to work with Barbara in the California State 
Assembly from 1990 to 1992. More recently, I had the pleasure of 
working with Barbara on Team California, our delegation's State/Federal 
working group.
  Through my work with Barbara, I know her to be an energetic and 
extremely effective and dedicated advocate for her community, and an 
enthusiastic and prolific legislator.
  Barbara is a staunch advocate for job creation and economic 
development because she recognizes the positive impact that jobs have 
on the community's quality of life. In the same vein, Barbara has 
worked with Federal, State, and local governments to create local and 
economic community development at decommissioned military bases.
  Barbara has also been committed to developing closer economic, 
political, and cultural ties between the State of California and 
Africa; a role that she will no doubt continue and expand upon when she 
is here in Congress.
  It is worth noting that, with Barbara's election, a record 12 out of 
California's 29 Democratic House Members are female. Now, this number 
is especially significant when you consider that it was a mere 10 years 
ago that there were only 12 Democratic women in the entire Congress.
  Welcome, Barbara. I know that you will have a productive and a 
distinguished career in Congress. We look forward to working with you 
on behalf of the State of California and the Nation as a whole. So 
please join me in welcoming Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

                          ____________________