[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 142 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        WE LOVE OUR CARRIE MEEK

  (Mr. DIAZ-BALART asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor one of our 
former colleagues, a woman who is really an institution in south 
Florida, in Florida, and in the Nation, and that is, of course, 
Congresswoman Carrie Meek.
  She was the first African American elected to the Florida Senate in 
1982, and then along with two other colleagues became the first African 
American to be elected from Florida to the U.S. Congress since 
Reconstruction.
  But here is what I know and remember about Carrie Meek. She is the 
consummate stateswoman. She is a person who loves her country. She 
loves this institution. It doesn't matter what party you're from. 
Whenever you have a need, whenever you have an issue, when you want 
counsel, she's the person that to this day we continue to go to.
  So today again, Madam Speaker, I'm here to honor a great woman, a 
great stateswoman, a person who in the State of Florida is revered by 
Republicans and Democrats alike. Her son followed her into Congress, 
Kendrick Meek, and he did a wonderful job, and also comes from that 
great tree that is Carrie Meek.
  Again, I'm here to honor Carrie Meek. Carrie, we love you, we miss 
you, we honor you.

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