[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 26, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  LETTER OF COMMENDATION HONORING CONNECTICUT STATE REP. MARIE LOPEZ 
                              KIRKLEY-BEY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 26, 2012

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, on June 14th, Connecticut 
State Representative Marie Lopez Kirkley-Bey received a Community 
Service Award during the 14th anniversary celebration of Hartford 
Communities That Care, a local non-profit organization dedicated to 
strengthening families, and developing youth leaders across the greater 
Hartford area.
  I was proud to present the following letter of commendation to Ms. 
Kirkley-Bey in recognition of her efforts:

                                                    June 13, 2012.
       Dear Representative Kirkley-Bey: I would like to commend 
     you for your dedication to making Connecticut and the City of 
     Hartford better places to live and work, and to recognize 
     your numerous accomplishments and awards during your ten-term 
     service in the Connecticut House of Representatives.
       Your strong work ethic and commitment to giving back to 
     Connecticut is perfectly illustrated in your journey to 
     becoming Deputy Speaker and a leader on a number of State 
     Legislatures and Committees. You built your career from the 
     ground up, calling on your inner strength and motivation to 
     advance from an entry-level job with Aetna, to management 
     positions, and finally to the House of Representatives, all 
     the while remembering your roots, hardships, and concerns in 
     order to empathize with and better assist your constituents. 
     Your negotiation skills and relationship with your 
     constituents will be missed.
       With a focus on quality of life issues, you were able to 
     address the needs of Connecticut's most vulnerable citizens, 
     namely homeless and unemployed mothers, children and seniors. 
     In a time when a quality education is more difficult to 
     attain due to rising costs, your work on increasing access to 
     and quality of education served as a crucial step to helping 
     Hartford residents become more self-sufficient. Your success 
     in working toward this goal is best portrayed in the 
     Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) legislation, 
     which continues to help single parents find a balance between 
     work, education and raising a family.
       Additionally, I appreciate your commitment to rejuvenating 
     Hartford's appearance and work and enrichment opportunities. 
     By negotiating the contract compliance portion of the 
     Adriaen's Landing Bill, you ensured that Hartford-based 
     minority contractors and laborers were employed, while your 
     contributions to the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) enabled 
     non-union minority contractors to receive fairer contracts. 
     Finally, the creation of the Construction Jobs Funnel re-
     emphasized your commitment to the community and education. 
     You recognized that in order to be employed, people need to 
     know and have confidence in certain basic job skills. These 
     three initiatives truly helped better Hartford.
       I applaud your hard work, time and dedication in pursuit of 
     a better Hartford and Connecticut and wish you the best of 
     luck in your future endeavors.
           All the Best,
                                                   John B. Larson,
     Member of Congress.

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