[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2496-E2497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     LUISA DeLAURO'S 90TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate my mother, Luisa 
DeLauro, as she celebrates her 90th birthday on December 24th. She is--
in every sense of the word--a remarkable person--someone who made a 
good life for herself and her family from the humblest beginnings.
  From her, I learned the values I carry with me to this day--she 
taught me the meaning of

[[Page E2497]]

hard work, of family and community. When I grew up, she worked in a 
sweatshop, sewing shirt collars for pennies. Everyday she would make me 
come by after school to see the horrible, cramped conditions. It is 
something I will never forget. The lesson was clear: work hard. Make 
something of yourself. Get a good education.
  She took her own lessons to heart, retiring 4 years ago after 35 
years on the New Haven Board of Alderman--the longest serving member in 
its history. During that time, she touched countless lives. I will 
always remember the people sitting around my parents' kitchen table in 
Wooster Square in New Haven. There, I witnessed firsthand how she and 
my father helped solve the problems of people in our neighborhood.
  My mother knew the importance of helping people--she understood that 
politics was an avenue for change. She also understood that women had 
an obligation to participate in the political process. When I first ran 
for Congress in 1990, I found an article my mother wrote in the 10th 
ward Democratic newsletter in 1933--70 years ago. Amazingly, she wrote:

       It is not my intention to be critical, rather my motive in 
     writing this article is to encourage the female members of 
     this organization to take a more active part in its affairs. 
     We are not living in the middle ages when a woman's part in 
     life was merely to serve her master in her home, but we have 
     gradually taken our place in every phase of human endeavor, 
     and even in the here-to-for stronghold of the male sex: 
     politics. I have noticed that the girls, unlike the men, are 
     timid in asserting themselves, and many a good idea is lost, 
     having been suppressed by its creator. Come on girls, let's 
     make ourselves heard.

  And so, mom, I want to take this opportunity to say, ``You made 
yourself heard.'' You continue to make us all proud. Thank you and 
congratulations on your ninth decade. You are your daughter's greatest 
inspiration.

                          ____________________