[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 170 (Tuesday, November 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       A TRIBUTE TO ELAINE ARMSTRONG VALL-SPINOSA COCHRAN DUNKLE

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 17, 2009

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mrs. Elaine 
Armstrong Vall-Spinosa Cochran Dunkle for her inspiring leadership and 
devoted service to both her community and country. For the past 54 
years she has applied her considerable skill to promoting civil 
discourse and civic engagement across both state and party lines. She 
has served, and continues to serve, as a bastion of inspiration for 
those who adhere to the principle that democracy is not an idle state, 
but a work in progress that expects our involvement should it seek to 
endure.
  On May 14, 1915, Elaine was born into a society that did not permit 
women to vote. Five years later, Congress ratified the 19th Amendment, 
giving women the right to vote under the U.S. Constitution. Elaine can 
recall her father giving her mother instructions on how the voting 
process worked. It was a memory she carried with her when, at age 21, 
Elaine cast her first ballot for Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1936 
Presidential election.
  After college, Elaine became a history teacher, and it was at the 
helm of a classroom that she first experienced a deep connection with 
politics. She felt a tremendous sense of responsibility to the children 
she taught, and to honor that, took the time to educate herself and 
them on the great issues of their day, such as Roosevelt's ``New Deal'' 
and the Marshal Plan. She left teaching, however, to raise her own 
family and it was shortly thereafter that Elaine was invited to a life-
changing meeting of Virginia's League of Women Voters.
  Rising the ranks within Virginia's delegation, Elaine soon found 
herself guiding the League in an attempt to prevent Congress from 
dismantling price controls in the midst of the Great Depression. 
Believing that price controls were crucial to keeping household staples 
affordable for the average Depression-stricken family, she led a 
motorcade with League representatives from all 48 states to the 
Capitol. Together, they succeeded in convincing Congress to delay the 
dismantling of those controls.
  Years later, Elaine was still active within the League of Women 
Voters. Now residing in Maryland, she played a vital role in a 
countless number of the League's Calvert County endeavors. As President 
of the Calvert County unit, she oversaw a number of initiatives aimed 
to increase public awareness of political issues. These included the 
hugely popular ``Know Who's in Charge'' pamphlet and the Calvert County 
Voter's Guide. One of her reigning achievements was her League's 
invaluable role in building the Chesapeake Bay Coalition--a union of 
five states joined in the fight to preserve and protect America's 
largest estuary. With the use of independently-funded studies, Elaine 
and her League members poured endless hours into persuading 
policymakers that it was the right action to take for our country. They 
succeeded.
  Madam Speaker, Thomas Jefferson once wrote that ``we in America do 
not have government by the majority--we have government by the majority 
of those who participate.'' Elaine Cochran Dunkle has spent her life 
participating and as a consequence has left a lasting mark on our 
country. I extend my sincerest thanks for her tireless commitment to 
our nation and for all the many accomplishments that commitment has 
engendered.

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