[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 158 (Wednesday, October 28, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN JOSEPH D. EARLY IN RECOGNITION OF HIS ROLE IN 
          LAUNCHING THE LIFE SCIENCE INDUSTRY IN WORCESTER, MA

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                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 28, 2009

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my hometown 
of Worcester, Massachusetts on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 
establishment of the life sciences industry as a major economic force 
within the city and the entire region. Due to scheduled votes here in 
the House of Representatives, I regret that I am unable to attend 
tonight's celebration of this occasion which has been organized by the 
Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI) and will be hosted by Abbot 
Laboratories in Worcester's Biotechnology Park. I am personally 
grateful to Kevin O'Sullivan and the leadership of MBI for ensuring 
this important milestone did not pass without properly recognizing the 
many individuals who had the foresight to realize the limitless 
potential of this fledgling industry and who in turn planted a flag in 
the heart of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts announcing to the world 
that biotechnology will be the future of our proud city. I particularly 
want to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of my friend 
Governor Michael Dukakis and the late William Short to this effort 
which now, a quarter century later, has spawned thousands of jobs and 
remarkable advances in healthcare right in Worcester, Massachusetts.
  I am, however, especially pleased that my predecessor, friend and 
colleague, Congressman Joseph D. Early, is also being honored tonight 
for the absolutely pivotal role he played in the creation of 
Worcester's biotechnology cluster. In his own quiet but effective way, 
Congressman Early relentlessly championed federal funding on the House 
Appropriations Committee for both the biotech park and for medical 
research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Before anyone 
else, Congressman Early understood that the local economy of his 
beloved city was in need of a transformation from a rich heritage of 
heavy manufacturing towards a new 2lst century industry that would 
produce the next generation of highly skilled jobs. His prescient 
vision and dogged determination forced Worcester to confront a harsh 
reality at that time; the city's future prosperity was directly 
dependent upon the ability to marry the immense intellectual capital at 
the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the city's other 
fine colleges and universities with its renowned tradition of 
industrial innovation. Due in large part to Congressman Early's 
leadership, that marriage took the shape of Worcester's Biotechnology 
Park and its success today is part of his unrivaled legacy of service 
to his district and the untold number of constituents who have 
benefited from his advocacy.
  Madam Speaker, all of us in elected office hope one day to be 
remembered not so much for the votes we have taken or the speeches we 
have given but for the very real, tangible and enduring examples of our 
public service. In that spirit, Congressman Joe Early's fingerprints 
are all over Worcester's Biotechnology Park and the rapidly expanding 
life science industry our city now enjoys. In as much as Congressman 
Early is a household name in Worcester, he remains a revered figure to 
those crusading pioneers at the National Institutes of Health who still 
remember and desperately miss his fierce commitment to federal funding 
for medical research.
  As he modestly accepts the honor bestowed upon him tonight, I want 
Congressman Early to personally know how much I truly admire him for 
the contributions he has made to the life sciences in Worcester and 
around the world. He inspires me to work all that much harder to 
support and promote biotechnology in Worcester and I will forever be 
grateful for the example he has given me.

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