[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 128 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO JOY ROSENHEIM SIMONSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Saturday, August 4, 2007

  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, today I wish to pay tribute to Joy 
Rosenheim Simonson who passed away just a few weeks ago. Joy was a 
leading advocate for women's rights at a time when that was a steep 
uphill battle.
  Joy rose to prominence in 1982, shortly after Ronald Reagan became 
President of the United States. At the first meeting of the National 
Advisory Council on Women's Educational Programs, of which Joy was the 
chairwoman, the Council replaced her with the notorious anti-woman's 
rights advocate Phyllis Schlafly, who quickly proposed abolishing the 
council.
  The firing of Joy led to an uproar among women's rights groups around 
the country, and several Members of Congress, including our 
distinguished colleague from Massachusetts, my good friend Congressman 
Barney Frank, denounced her removal. Barney went further than simply 
denouncing the outrage. He immediately hired her as a staff member of 
the Subcommittee on Employment which he then chaired. It was a 
brilliant decision.
  A few years later, Madam Speaker, I succeeded Congressman Frank as 
chair of the Subcommittee on Employment and Housing of the Committee on 
Government Operations. One of the wisest decisions I made was to keep 
Joy as a member of my staff. Joy was with me for the six years I served 
as Chair of that subcommittee. She was a loyal, devoted and energetic 
staff member. We met many times a week to plan subcommittee 
investigations and hearings. She sat right behind me in our frequent 
hearings.
  Joy had a wonderful sense of issues that needed to be dealt with, and 
she had excellent ideas of how to take the next steps in promoting 
women's rights. We had outstanding hearings that resulted in tough 
reports adopted by the Committee dealing with women executives (the 
glass ceiling), discrimination against women owning automobile 
dealerships, problems women face finding daycare, discrimination 
against women who breastfeed their infants, and many, many others. When 
Joy retired from working for the Congress, she was the oldest staff 
member of the House of Representatives.
  Madam Speaker, Joy Simonson dedicated her life to public service. Her 
decade of service on the staff of the Employment and Housing 
Subcommittee was only a small part of her very distinguished career of 
public service. She led several organizations devoted to women's issues 
and helped break down barriers for women. Born in New York City, Mrs. 
Simonson moved to Washington after graduating from Bryn Mawr College to 
serve on the War Manpower Commission in the early 1940's. Later, in 
1945 she worked for the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in 
Egypt and Yugoslavia, and then worked at Army headquarters in Frankfurt 
Germany. It was during this period overseas that she met and married 
her husband Richard Simonson. In 1948, they moved back to Washington, 
DC. Joy and Richard are the parents of a son and a daughter.

  Joy Simonson was the first woman to head the District of Columbia's 
Alcohol Beverage Control Board, serving from 1964 until 1972. During 
this time she also founded the National Association of Commissions for 
women, and served as its president for three terms. She also notably 
fought for Title IX, protested the exclusion of women from the Augusta 
National Golf Club, and in 1967 organized the D.C. Commission for 
Women.
  In 1992 Mrs. Simonson was elected to the D.C. Women's Hall of Fame 
for her untiring work on behalf of women. She was also later recognized 
by the National Center for Women, who gave her the prestigious 
Formothers Award.
  Madam Speaker, Joy was here on Capitol Hill several months ago--after 
the election which finally gave us the first woman as Speaker of the 
House of Representatives. She was delighted and pleased beyond measure 
at seeing a woman preside over this body, where she devoted over a 
decade of remarkable service during her remarkable life.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Joy Rosenheim 
Simonson.

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