[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 185 (Thursday, December 10, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING SENATOR PAULA HAWKINS

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                     HON. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 10, 2009

  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember an 
historic figure in Florida politics, United States Senator Paula 
Hawkins, who died at the age of 82 on Friday, December 4, 2009.
  Senator Hawkins was the first woman from any State elected to a full 
U.S. Senate term who was not the wife or daughter of a politician.
  Senator Hawkins was a champion of children's issues and issues 
relating to single women.
  She was instrumental in passing The Missing Children's Act of 1982, 
which established a national clearinghouse for information about 
missing children.
  Senator Hawkins fought to help women enter the job market after 
divorce or widowhood, for equalizing pension benefits for women by 
taking into account their years spent at home raising children, for day 
care for the children of Senate employees and for tax breaks on child 
care expenses.
  But probably her most courageous act took place in 1984 when she 
publicly disclosed that she was sexually molested as a child.
  We should all be grateful to Senator Hawkins, Madam Speaker, for 
opening the door for so many others.

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