[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 70 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5387-H5388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CELEBRATING ALL OF THE MOTHERS IN OUR NATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Titus). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Allow me to thank the distinguished 
gentleman for his kindness.
  Madam Speaker, I didn't want to leave and return to my district 
without acknowledging how humbled America is in honoring the Nation's 
mothers. I believe it was a great idea to set aside a day to honor our 
mothers and to honor our fathers. And so this weekend is a nationally 
declared day to celebrate motherhood.
  I rise today to be able to celebrate the mothers all over this Nation 
who link arms with those around the world who are, in fact, special. 
For mothers are, in fact, the nurturers and caregivers that prepare our 
Nation's young for the challenges that life may hold. Their work may be 
inside or outside of the home or both, and their contributions to this 
society can never be fully appreciated or valued. Jane Sellman 
definitely hit the needle on the head when she said, ``The phrase 
`working mother' is redundant,'' for obviously a mom, a mommy, a mother 
works.
  In this day and time, we find that mothers come in many shapes and 
sizes. Today our First Lady spoke eloquently about the challenges of 
being a working mother. But as we have come to understand, a mom works 
at home, she works in the workplace, she is a volunteer. She does many 
things that constitute work but are her daily duties.
  Our mothers are our first teachers, and they should be celebrated 
every day. However, like many things, sometimes we take this whole idea 
of motherhood for granted. Yes, we sometimes have teenage mothers, or 
grandmothers as mothers nurturing children of their children. We have 
ailing mothers. We have mothers who have passed. And there will be many 
in our Nation who will be celebrating or commemorating Mother's Day 
without their beloved mom. They will be mourning the loss. Maybe they 
will be at grave sites. But what I will say to them is that they will 
have the wonderful memories.
  I want the fact that this is Mother's Day to have us remember that 
being a mom is not easy. Motherhood is not for those who might want to 
give up. But many times, it is important that we encircle our moms, 
give them the strength to be able to carry on, be reminded that in 
addition to making dinner, they are reading bedtime stories. But maybe 
there are mothers who don't have the capabilities, don't have the time, 
are not able to get home before 12 midnight, work the night shift, work 
around the clock; we should be sympathetic to them.
  I'm proud that this Congress has recognized the importance of 
mothers. One of the first bills that we signed was the equal pay bill. 
We also provided and signed the SCHIP bill that provided for 11 million 
more children to have health care. That helps the mothers of America. 
We also recognize that 47 million Americans are uninsured. Many of them 
are mothers with young children. Many of them are mothers with ailments 
who have catastrophic illnesses or chronic illnesses. We want to say to 
them ``thank you'' by providing those mothers with full comprehensive 
health care.
  We know that mothers are caring and courageous women who make a 
difference in the lives they touch. As a Jewish proverb said, ``God 
could not be everywhere, and therefore He made mothers.'' And so this 
Mother's Day is a celebration for grandmothers, mothers-in-law, 
stepmothers, foster mothers, godmothers, mothers who take in children, 
mothers of all ethnicities, all backgrounds, all economic levels. We 
are to celebrate them.
  Today thousands of mothers in this country have become active and 
effective participants in public life and public service, promoting 
change and improving the quality of life for men, women and children 
throughout the Nation. I cannot find the words to thank all of these 
mothers who may be legislators, mayors, judges, doctors, lawyers and 
administrators. And yet I also thank those mothers who are waitresses, 
as I said, who are nurses aides, who drive buses, who are out on the 
construction sites, who are poets, who are authors. They are all part 
of our life.
  I want to pay tribute to my own mother, Ivalita Jackson, strong, 
determined, elderly and frail now; but having raised us, I thank her 
for the integrity, the determination, the spirit and the love she gave. 
I'm grateful for my grandmothers, Vany Bennett and Olive Jackson, my 
Aunt Valrie Bennett and my Aunts Audrey and Vicky. I'm grateful for my 
Aunt Sarah. I'm grateful for the extended family members. I'm grateful 
for the future mothers, my daughter Erica Lee.
  And so I am thankful today that we know that a mother is the truest 
friend we have when trials are heavy and sudden and fall upon us, when 
adversity takes the place of prosperity, when friends who rejoiced with 
us in our sunshine desert us, when trouble thickens around us, still 
will she cling to us and endeavor by her precepts and counsels to 
dissipate the clouds of darkness and cause peace to return to our 
hearts. A mother is the truest friend, and we know that through an 
American author, Washington Irving.
  And today as I finish my remarks, I want to particularly say to those 
mothers who may be listening, to our colleagues who are likewise 
mothers, to the Asian Pacific mothers, as we celebrate Asian Pacific 
Month, wherever they might be, we want to give them a helping hand. And 
through a mother, I want to be able to say, I want no child to ever go 
to bed hungry. We want no child to ever not have an education. And we 
want you to have the fullest opportunity to raise children to be 
healthy and productive.
  I close, Madam Speaker, by saying simply this, in the words of Jackie 
Kennedy Onassis, ``If you bungle raising your children, I don't think 
whatever else you do well matters very much.'' We want our mothers not 
to bungle. God bless them and God bless America.
  Madam Speaker, I stand before you today in order to recognize and 
celebrate all of the mothers in our Nation.
  They are the nurturers, and caregivers that prepare our Nation's 
young for the challenges that life may hold. Their work may be inside 
or outside of the home, or both, and their contributions to this 
society can never be fully appreciated or valued. Jane Sellman 
definitely hit the needle on the head when she said, ``The phrase 
`working mother' is redundant''.
  Our mothers are our first teachers and they should be celebrated 
everyday. However, like many things we can take them for granted. This 
Mothers Day, take a moment to call your mother or to visit with her if 
you can.
  Remember that being a mom is no easy feat. Motherhood is not for the 
faint of heart. Motherhood is not for women with weak stomachs or 
strict routines. A mother must be able to juggle three things at once 
and still manage to make dinner and read bedtime stories. No doctor can 
take away all the ailments of a sick child or even an adult for that 
matter, like a mother can. Mothers are caring and courageous women who 
make a difference in the lives they touch. As the Jewish proverb says, 
``God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.''
  Mother's Day is also a celebration for grandmothers, mother-in-laws, 
stepmothers, foster mothers, godmothers, mothers who take in children, 
mothers who adopt, those who act as mothers, for those women who have 
no relations by blood but who give the gift of mothering to children.
  Mothers bring a unique and valuable perspective to all aspects of 
American life. Today, thousands of mothers in this country have become 
active and effective participants in public life and public service, 
promoting change and improving the quality of life for men, women and 
children throughout the Nation. They serve with distinction as 
legislators, mayors, judges, doctors, lawyers, and administrators, and 
their impact in these areas has proved to be monumental.
  I could not find words descriptive enough to fully express the depth 
of admiration that I feel for women who fill this important role in our 
society. They are committed to their families and community not for 
public acclaim, but for

[[Page H5388]]

love. As American author Washington Irving put it best, ``A mother is 
the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; 
when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice 
with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, 
still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and 
counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause ace to return 
to our hearts.''
  My heart goes out to those mothers with children who are away at war, 
I cannot even imagine the fear that they must feel daily. I want to 
recognize the First Lady, Michelle Obama, who is striking a balance ALL 
between motherhood and her duties as the First Lady. I want to 
congratulate and praise all of the mothers in America for all of their 
hard work. Another former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis once 
said, ``If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever 
else you do well matters very much.''
  I hope that we can all reflect on all the sacrifices our mothers made 
for us throughout the years. A mother's love is unending and her arms 
are always open. I wish all mothers a Happy Mothers Day this weekend.

                          ____________________