[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 109 (Thursday, September 7, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1660-E1661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MARY A. BAIN: A NATIONAL TREASURE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2006

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, last month, the 9th Congressional 
District of Illinois mourned the loss of a dedicated and extraordinary 
public servant. Mary Anderson Bain brought her many talents, a firmly-
rooted commitment to the New Deal principles of expanding opportunities 
to all, and a deep love of the arts to a career that has enriched our 
Nation.
  Mary Bain is known by many of us from her long service with 
Representative Sid Yates, and she was one of the first women chiefs of 
staff when she accepted that position in 1975. Mrs. Bain was gracious 
and charming, but she was also politically-savvy and focused when it 
came to contributing to the well-being of the 9th Congressional 
District of Illinois and promoting the interests that she and 
Representative Yates shared. The two of them were a finely-tuned team 
who, together, were able to do great things.
  In 2003, Mary Bain received the Heritage Defender Award, an award 
that recognized her many achievements: helping to create a cultural 
heritage grants program for the National Park Service and a 
conservation program at the Institute of Library and Museum Services 
and to ensure funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the 
National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institute, the 
National Gallery, and the Kennedy Center.
  At the awards ceremony, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said, ``Not 
only did Mary Bain save national treasures, she is a national 
treasure.''
  Mrs. Bain served the Nation but she started her public service in 
Illinois, first as a junior high school English teacher and later as 
the Illinois administrator of the National Youth Administration, a 
depression-era New Deal initiative. She was one of the youngest and one 
of the few women leaders. Part of the Works Progress Administration, 
the NYA provided young men and women with small work study payments so 
that they could afford to get an education. It provided an opportunity 
for a generation of young people who would otherwise have lost hope and 
their chance for a better future.
  Mary Bain followed two guiding principles throughout her life. One 
was the belief that publicly-accountable government could make a 
positive difference in people's lives, whether it is in preserving the 
environment, providing education opportunities and financial security 
or expanding our cultural life. She was proud to be a liberal and made 
no bones about it.
  The second was her commitment to sharing what she had learned from 
her decades of public service with others. There are many

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people in Washington and Illinois who were mentored by Mary Bain--
staff, House members, activists and advocates. I will always be 
grateful for her generosity in helping me when I was elected to succeed 
Representative Yates.
  And, like so many others, I will always be grateful for her lifetime 
of accomplishments.

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