[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 65 (Monday, April 23, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H3753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise this 
evening to celebrate the life of my very good friend and colleague, 
Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald.
  I personally have known Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald for 
over 30 years. Our time together spans back before her days as a Member 
of this distinguished body when I was member of the Los Angeles Unified 
School Board and she was there as an administrator and then as a 
California State legislator. And then on that road she was elected to 
the Carson City Council.
  Juanita's distinguished life is a life of ``firsts.'' She is the 
first African American woman in history to chair the Committee on House 
Administration, which oversees the operation of the House, the Library 
of Congress, the Smithsonian Institute, and the National Zoo. The 
Committee on House Administration also oversees all Federal elections. 
Juanita worked tirelessly to investigate all reports of voter 
irregularities and voter disenfranchisement. She was one of the first 
Members of Congress to call for a congressional hearing on reported 
voting irregularities in the State of Ohio. She played an important 
role in congressional election reform.
  Juanita Millender-McDonald was also the first African-American woman 
to serve on the Carson City Council and the first to hold the position 
of chairwoman for two powerful California State Assembly committees in 
her first term.
  Like myself, Juanita Millender-McDonald at heart was an educator. 
After raising five children, Juanita, at the age of 40, returned to 
school and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Redlands 
and a master's degree in educational administration from Cal State L.A.
  She spent her early career in the classroom, teaching high school and 
working at a career center. It is here that Juanita first demonstrated 
her ongoing interest in the lives of young people and issues that 
impact the lives of women and their children. But above all, Juanita 
worked tirelessly for all the people in her community. And I want to 
say, all the people. She was a people person who had an uncanny skill 
to build and sustain networks.
  As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 
Juanita worked, again, tirelessly to secure much-needed Federal 
assistance for Southern California's transportation needs, including 
funding for her passion: for the Alameda Corridor.
  Juanita's passing is a great loss to this institution as well as her 
constituents and as well as this Nation. She was a great citizen as 
well as a great person and would have made a lasting and important 
contribution to this body in her position as House Administration 
chair. She was making that contribution every single day.
  And I would say to her, Juanita, you missed the caucus. You missed 
the California Caucus. You missed the Black Caucus.
  She said, I am so busy working, I don't have time for the caucuses. 
She was committed.
  And on a personal note, Madam Speaker, when she was sworn in as a 
Congresswoman in her district, I went there. She had been sworn in 
here, and when she got up to speak, she said, You know, I was raised on 
a farm and I married early. And she said, I was so naive, when I had 
five children one after another, I just knew it was that orange juice, 
being raised on a farm. So I would tease her. I said, ``Juanita, watch 
out for the orange juice.''
  She was one of my closest friends and colleagues. She will be missed. 
And I want you to know she was raised by a father and her older 
sisters. She was the youngest. So she said, You know, on a farm we were 
wealthy. And she said, But it was my father who played the role of both 
parents. He set down the principles and values by which I run my life. 
So in honor of my father, I am adding as my middle name, my maiden 
name, his last name. So, therefore, she became Juanita Millender-
McDonald. And if you ever saw her signature, it was one of the most 
beautiful, graceful signatures. And she always took time to write 
``Juanita Millender-McDonald.'' And I would go on correcting people 
when they said ``Juanita McDonald.'' I said, ``No. Juanita Millender-
McDonald.''
  So, Juanita, we celebrate you and we know that you are here in these 
Chambers today. And to end my piece and allow the others, we did a 
taping with our voices on it, and at the end we sang to her 
``Dreamgirls.'' We will always be dreaming of our Juanita Millender-
McDonald.

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