[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 169 (Saturday, December 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              DIANE WATSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 17, 2010

  Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Congressional 
Black Caucus, it is with great pleasure and pride that I extend my best 
wishes and congratulations to Congresswoman Diane Watson, as she 
prepares to retire from the United States Congress.
  A former elementary school teacher and school psychologist, 
Congresswoman Watson has lectured at both California State Universities 
at Los Angeles and Long Beach. In 1975, she became the first African-
American woman to be elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District 
Board of Education. She led efforts to expand school integration and 
improve academic standards.
  For almost 20 years, Congresswoman Watson served in the California 
State Senate where she was the first African-American woman to serve in 
that body. She became a statewide and national advocate for health 
care, consumer protection, women, and children. During her tenure in 
Sacramento, she served as chair of the Senate Health and Human Services 
Committee and as a member of the Judiciary Committee.
  Congresswoman Watson retired from the State Senate in 1999 when she 
was appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton to serve as the 
United States Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia. As 
Ambassador to Micronesia, she represented our country in a magnificent 
way and has throughout her career demonstrated her mastery of foreign 
policy. She is truly an international leader. Dr. Watson served in this 
capacity until 2001 when she returned to California to run for Congress 
in a special election after the death of Congressman Julian Dixon.
  An exceptional public servant, Congresswoman Watson has demonstrated 
a remarkable commitment to improving the human condition, throughout 
her long and distinguished career. A commonsense legislator and a 
passionate advocate for justice, she has masterfully used her vote and 
voice in the United States House of Representatives.
  The Congressional Black Caucus honors and salutes Congresswoman 
Watson for her legacy of service to the residents of California's 33rd 
Congressional District and to the global community. We will miss her in 
the halls of Congress and in the ranks of the CBC. We wish her well as 
she opens the next chapter of her life, we celebrate her leadership, 
and thank her for her friendship.

                          ____________________