[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 43 (Thursday, March 13, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING KAREN BASS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 2008

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the newly 
elected speaker of the California State Assembly, the Honorable Karen 
Bass. It is with great pride and pleasure that I applaud her 
accomplishments and wish her much future success.
  At the end of this legislative year, Karen Bass will break glass 
ceilings in California and across the Nation by becoming the first 
African-American woman speaker of a State legislative body. Speaker-
elect Karen Bass, who is respected on both sides of the aisle, received 
unanimous vote of the members to become the first Democratic woman 
elected to this position in California's history.
  Throughout her career, public service and social justice have been 
the common threads around which her life revolved. Understanding the 
importance of education, Speaker-elect Bass taught as an adjunct 
instructor at her alma mater, California State University, Dominguez 
Hills. She also served as the clinical instructor at the Southern 
California School of Medicine and as the project director for the 
health careers opportunity program. A graduate of the University of 
Southern California's, USC, School of Medicine-Physician Assistant 
Program, Speaker-elect Bass worked in our country's largest trauma 
center, Los Angeles/USC Medical Center. It was here that she witnessed 
firsthand the havoc wreaked upon the community by the crack cocaine 
epidemic.
  In 1990, Speaker-elect Bass took action by leaving the medical 
profession and founding the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment. She served as its executive director for 14 
years. After the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles, the coalition united 
and succeeded in transforming the social and economic conditions in 
south Los Angeles.
  Speaker-elect Bass turned to politics when she concluded that the 
best way to implement change was to become an elected official herself. 
At the time of her election, there were no other African-American women 
in the California legislature, but her leadership potential was 
recognized immediately. During her first term, she was appointed 
majority whip during the 2005-2006 legislative session. During her 
second term, she became the first woman and first African-American 
appointed to the position of majority leader.
  As vice chair of California's Legislative Black Caucus, Speaker-elect 
Bass pressed for the creation of the State of Black California Report, 
which measured economic and social conditions of California's African-
American population. The Speaker-elect also created the People's 
Council to engage citizens in the debate on public policy and the 
political process. The Council was composed of four commissions, which 
examined education, environment, small business, and health issues in 
the State.
  Always reaching for the highest goals, I am certain that Speaker-
elect Bass will lead the California State Assembly with the same 
commitment and dedication that she has demonstrated throughout her 
entire career. In closing, Madam Speaker, please join me in honoring 
the achievements of Speaker-elect Karen Bass and wishing her continuing 
success.

                          ____________________