[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 7 (Tuesday, February 5, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO NEW MINORITY WHIP, THE HONORABLE NANCY PELOSI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Brown of South Carolina). Under a 
previous order of the House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to also pay 
tribute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi). Forty years 
ago in this city a beautiful young woman graduated from Trinity 
College. Today she becomes the highest ranking woman in the United 
States House of Representatives. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Pelosi), now a San Francisco Congresswoman, is the pride of our great 
State. Born in Baltimore to a family of public servants, her father has 
been mentioned, Thomas D'Alesandro, served as mayor of Baltimore for 12 
years after representing the city in this House of Representatives for 
five terms where he, like the gentlewoman, served on the Committee on 
Appropriations. Her brother, Thomas D'Alesandro, III, served as mayor 
of Baltimore.
  She met her husband Paul here in Washington, D.C., in Georgetown 
where he was a student at Georgetown University. They moved to 
California, and I think at that time Paul Pelosi changed the definition 
of the State slogan which is printed on our State library in 
Sacramento. That slogan reads, ``Bring us men to match our mountains.'' 
Paul Pelosi brought us women to match our mountains.
  The gentlewoman gave birth to five children, Nancy Corinne, 
Christine, Jacqueline, Paul, and Alexandra. While raising her five 
children, she got involved in San Francisco Democratic politics, became 
northern chair of the State party, and chair of the 1984 Democratic 
National Convention Host Committee when that convention was held in San 
Francisco.
  The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) became known as a 
national committeewoman from California and served in that position for 
20 years. She is a champion of the people's issues. She is a respected 
mother, a San Francisco socialite, a Congresswoman, and now Democratic 
whip of the House of Representatives.
  As a native of California, fifth generation, this is one of the 
proudest moments I have had in public life, to see one of our own 
public servants rise to this position, and I now serve along with the 
gentlewoman as chair of the Democratic delegation from California. That 
is no small issue. We have 32 members of the 52-member delegation that 
are Democrats. Of those 32 members, 16 are women, 16 are men. It has 
the highest number of African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and, as I 
like to say, return Peace Corps volunteers in that delegation. Every 
one of the Members in that delegation and the history it is making as a 
delegation of parity and a delegation of broad representation pays 
tribute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) for getting 
them elected to Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, we gather on this floor of this great institution to pay 
tribute to a woman who has already made history, but in the years ahead 
will make even more.

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