[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SORROW OF THE HOUSE AT THE DEATH OF THE HONORABLE JUANITA 
  MILLENDER-McDONALD, MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 23, 2007

  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor today with a heavy 
heart. The passing of the Honorable Juanita Millender-McDonald is being 
felt by all who knew her, and all who were touched by her career in 
public service. I want to extend my condolences to her family, friends 
and constituents in California's 37th District for their great loss.
  In fact, we all have lost something in the Chairwoman's passing. For 
me, I lost a colleague, but my wife Annette and I also have lost a 
neighbor and friend.
  Much has been said in these past days about what she meant to 
California and to the Congress as a whole. When she won her first 
election to the City Council of Carson, California, she committed 
herself to more than two decades of public service. As the first 
African-American woman to chair a committee here in the House, she was 
a trailblazer. And as the so-called ``Mayor of Capitol Hill'' she was 
charged with ensuring the smooth operation of the people's House, while 
overseeing the biggest expansion of the Capitol complex as the Capitol 
Visitors Center nears completion.
  Madam Speaker, many of us are so busy that we don't have time to 
really get to know one another. Seeing Juanita every morning on my way 
to the office was an extraordinary way to start off my day, and in the 
evening we would compare notes on our way home. I will truly miss 
seeing her and am heart broken by her untimely passing.
  Congress has lost a singularly able and warm person whose 
contributions to the greater good for her District, the people of 
California, the country as a whole, and African-American women will 
live on. Our prayers are with her family as we all mourn the passing of 
Chairwoman Juanita Millender-McDonald.

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