[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 125 (Monday, September 30, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9579-S9580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING CONGRESSWOMAN PATSY T. MINK

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise to offer a few words in tribute to a 
distinguished colleague and dear friend, Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto 
Mink, who passed away Saturday afternoon in Honolulu, HI. I am deeply 
saddened by the passing of my friend and colleague, Patsy Mink, and I 
join our Congressional delegation, and the people of Hawaii and the 
Nation in extending heartfelt sympathy to John and Wendy Mink, her 
husband and daughter, Eugene Takemoto, her brother, and all of Patsy's 
extended family and her loyal staff in Washington and Hawaii.
  I feel a tremendous sense of loss at the untimely death of 
Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink. Her passing leaves a void in the 
House of Representatives, the Hawaii congressional delegation, and the 
political life of our Nation. It is difficult to put her spirit into 
words, but those that come immediately to mind as fitting 
characterizations of the woman we honor today include courageous, 
forthright, tenacious, gutsy, outspoken, bold, meticulous, and 
determined. She was my friend, a dedicated public servant for Hawaii, a 
strong pillar in our state's delegation, and an advocate for those in 
America who feel scared, small, alone, mistreated, neglected or 
forgotten.
  Patsy was a petite woman with a powerful voice and a peerless 
reputation as a champion for equal opportunity, civil rights, and 
education. She was a courageous and tenacious leader whose lifetime of 
public service made Hawaii a better place. Her leadership in health, 
education, child welfare, and social services will endure and continue 
to benefit Hawaii's people and all Americans.
  In the course of her life, Patsy was a pioneer, a trailblazer for 
women, workers, minorities, the poor, and the powerless. In the history 
of Hawaii and our Nation in the 20th century, Patsy Mink is one of the 
giants whose vision of hope and passion for justice led Hawaii to 
statehood and whose efforts broke down barriers and opened doors to 
opportunity for everyone, regardless of race, gender, or religion. Her 
passing silences a dynamic voice, but her many accomplishments, her 
unimpeachable integrity, and passion for justice stand as an incredible 
legacy to a magnificent woman.
  I commend to my colleagues and all those interested in Patsy's 
remarkable life, a biography by Esther Arinaga and Rene Ojiri included 
in a book titled Called from Within: Early Women Lawyers of Hawaii, 
edited by Mari Matsuda. I wish to recap some of her brilliant life and 
career for the Record.
  Born on December 6, 1927, in Paia, Maui, Patsy was independent and 
ambitious from the start. As an illustration, one family story recalls 
that she insisted at age four on beginning school a year early. She was 
driven throughout her young life, and was elected student body 
president at Maui High School. She graduated as valedictorian in 1944, 
a year marked by global strife and war.
  Patsy's childhood curiosity about medicine led her to study zoology 
and chemistry at the University of Hawaii. After graduating in 1948, 
she applied to medical school, only to be rejected along with other 
bright young women aspiring to be doctors, in a time when women made up 
only 2 to 3 percent of an entering class. Another factor daunting her 
efforts was the return of our war veterans and a resulting boom in 
applications for graduate and postgraduate programs. Although 
discouraged, Patsy took wise counsel from a mentor and applied to law 
schools. She gained admission to the University of Chicago. It was 
during her years of law studies that she would meet and marry John 
Mink, a respected hydrologist and geologist, her loyal campaign 
advisor, and her lifelong companion. It was in Chicago that they would 
have their daughter, Wendy, a professor at Smith College.
  Returning to Hawaii, Patsy gained admission to the Hawaii bar in 
1953, but only after a successful challenge of a statute that required 
a woman to take the residency status of her husband, who was a native 
Pennsylvanian. Such an action represented only one of several 
challenges to sexism that she would undertake during her professional 
career. In being admitted to the bar, she also logged one of many 
firsts by becoming the first Japanese American woman to do so in 
Hawaii.
  In the 1950s, Patsy began to take a serious interest in politics and 
make her mark on the Democratic Party by helping to build the party and 
draw many young people into its ranks. Patsy's first step into public 
elected office in the territorial legislature in 1956 awoke for Hawaii 
and the world a powerful voice that would only gain strength in its 
impact and not be silenced until the new millennium. From that moment 
forward, Patsy's professional and political record would run as if by 
perpetual motion.
  The momentous year of 1959 brought Statehood for Hawaii, and by then, 
Patsy had easily won election to the territorial Senate. Leading up to 
Statehood, while the legislature worked on landmark issues that would 
lend shape to Hawaii's new society, Patsy authored an ``equal pay for 
equal work'' law and scrutinized the Department of Education toward 
improving education for Hawaii's children--a cause close to my heart, 
as one who previously served as a teacher and principal in Hawaii's 
schools.
  In 1965, Patsy brought her views to the national stage when she 
became the first woman of color elected to the United States House of 
Representatives to represent Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District--a 
seat I was proud to hold for almost 14 years, before I entered the 
Senate. Patsy was articulate about the causes she tenaciously 
shepherded. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fireside chats, heard 
years ago on Maui by a young Patsy, had provided her with a foundation 
of ideals and rhetoric from which she would draw upon for many years in 
her political career.
  During her first tenure in Congress, Patsy served her various 
constituencies, both in Hawaii and around this Nation, with a strong 
commitment to wide-ranging domestic issues, including education, the 
environment, child care, open Government, workers' rights, and equal 
opportunity. She introduced the first Early Childhood Education Act, 
authored the Women's Education Equity Act, supported strip mining 
regulation, and became an early critic of the Vietnam War. In 1971, she 
entered the Oregon Democratic Presidential primary. Her candidacy 
reflected her determined independence and frustration with Government 
cutbacks in social services spending and the ongoing war.
  In 1971, in connection with planned underground nuclear tests at 
Amchitka Island in the Aleutian chain, she filed suit with 32 other 
Members of Congress to compel disclosure of reports under the Freedom 
of Information Act, FOIA. She took issue with alleged Presidential 
authority to exempt certain information from FOIA and withhold it from 
judicial or legislative review. In the final outcome, in what had been 
described by Patsy as a sort of Waterloo of the Freedom of Information 
Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Congress could legislate new 
disclosure guidelines to permit judicial review of the President's 
actions. In the end, the case gained tremendous historical significance 
when the U.S. Supreme Court cited it as precedent for the release of 
the Watergate tapes.
  In perhaps her farthest-reaching accomplishment, Patsy co-authored 
title IX of the Higher Education Act Amendments, which prohibits gender 
discrimination by educational institutions receiving Federal funds. The 
landmark provision was enacted in 1972 and has since, in its 30 years 
of existence, introduced equality in college sports and contributed 
greatly to the rise in women's athletics.
  An unsuccessful Senate bid ended her first set of years in Federal 
office in 1977, but it did not quiet her political

[[Page S9580]]

involvement or public service. Indeed, in 1990 she returned to the 
House. In the interim, she assumed the position of Assistant Secretary 
of State for Ocean and International, Environmental, and Scientific 
Affairs, where she helped to strengthen environmental policies, 
particularly with regard to protection of whales, toxic chemical 
disposal and ocean mining. In 1980, she took the helm as the first 
woman president of the Americans for Democratic Action. Two years 
later, she returned to elected office in Hawaii by taking the gavel as 
chairperson of the Honolulu City Council. She twice ran unsuccessfully 
for other office, this time for Governor and mayor of Honolulu, then 
triumphed in 1990 in a special election for the remainder of my term in 
the other body, at the passing of our beloved colleague, Spark 
Matsunaga.
  Since 1990, she continued in characteristic style, advocating and 
articulating the ideals that she had espoused during her first terms in 
the other body. I remember Patsy marching up the Capitol steps with 
vigor, alongside her other female colleagues, to show her support for 
Anita Hill in 1991. I was pleased to work with Patsy, the distinguished 
senior Senator from Hawaii, Senator Dan Inouye, the honorable Secretary 
of Transportation, Norm Mineta, and my other colleagues in the 
establishment of a Congressional caucus to address the needs of Asian 
Americans and Pacific Islanders in 1994.
  I recall her leadership in 1996 on a successful boycott of a joint 
session speech by French President Jacques Chirac, in protest of French 
nuclear testing in the Pacific, much in line with our shared commitment 
to championing the disenfranchised peoples of the Pacific in our 
respective bodies. As we hope to complete action on a welfare 
reauthorization bill in this session, I remember Patsy's steadfast 
efforts before the passage of the 1996 welfare reform law in keeping us 
mindful about the possible effects of social policy changes on 
children. She had continued the battle cry with the current welfare 
reauthorization and ensured that the voices of the smallest and most 
vulnerable were heard.
  Patsy was one of the last Members of the 107th Congress who served in 
the historic 89th Congress that passed much of the landmark Great 
Society legislation. Patsy's lifelong efforts to open educational 
access to countless Americans and ensure them the best educational 
opportunities were the achievements that brought her the greatest 
satisfaction. ``Anything for the children,'' was Patsy's guiding 
conviction. I believe we shared the same view about education that this 
crucial area is where we can do the most good for the most people.
  A great spirit has come and gone before us. Patsy's vigor and courage 
to tackle difficult issues in the wide realm of social policy will be 
sorely missed. There are fewer trails for women and minorities to 
blaze, thanks to Patsy's determination and spirit. Indeed, her 
trailblazing efforts will not end with her death, for the things she 
put into place will continue to benefit the lives of countless 
individuals, in our lifetime and for generations to come, in ways that 
may not ever be truly appreciated.
  We are enjoined to carry forth the mission that my dear colleague 
pursued during her remarkable career. With great sadness, we bid a 
final farewell and aloha pumehana to a fearless and remarkable lady, 
the most honorable Patsy Takemoto Mink.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Nelson of Florida). Without objection, it 
is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, are we in morning business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. DORGAN. I ask unanimous consent to speak for as much time as I 
consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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