[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 28, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO ANNETTE KLANG SMAIL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 27, 2007

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor my friend Annette 
Klang Smail who passed away March 10, 2007, in Marin County, 
California, after a lifetime of activism. Annette Smail's feisty 
grassroots approach worked on both the local and national levels, as 
she advocated nonstop for causes she believed in.
  Annette was born in Napa County in 1920 and graduated from the 
University of California at Berkeley in 1943 with a degree in English. 
She moved to Chicago where she met famed community organizer Saul 
Alinsky. She was a council delegate in his ``Back of the Yards'' 
neighborhood social movement, worked as a reporter and editor for its 
journal, and traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for meat 
packers.
  In 1949, Annette married Air Force serviceman Donald Smail, and moved 
to Novato, California, with him in 1966. Upon their divorce in 1971, 
she discovered that she was no longer eligible for military medical 
benefits. And thus began a national crusade to secure these rights for 
former spouses of military personnel.
  She felt the regulations left many women vulnerable and, in 1977, 
persuaded then-Congressman John Burton to introduce a bill to grant 
medical benefits to ex-spouses who had been married at least 20 years. 
The bill passed in 1984. Many women have benefited from her effort, 
especially older women whom she felt were often dependent upon their 
husbands after years of marriage.
  Annette founded the Older Women's Caucus of National Women's 
Political Caucus, was a delegate to a White House Conference on Aging, 
and, in Marin County, co-founded the Novato Human Needs Center. In 
1991, she was inducted into the Marin Women's Hall of Fame. Her 
commitment to ordinary people and her boundless energy inspired 
admiring reactions from her friends and family, and Rep. Burton called 
her ``the grande dame of the women's movement in Marin.''
  Madam Speaker, we will miss Annette Smail's grassroots activism and 
her tireless efforts for a good cause. Her example has motivated many 
others to fight for their rights and not give up. And she paved the way 
for women like me to become involved and seek leadership positions. I 
am pleased to honor her today for all she has meant to so many.

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