[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 129 (Friday, September 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF EILEEN DAILY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2012

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, this year residents of Connecticut's 33rd 
District will bid a fond farewell to a woman who has served them for 
nearly two decades. Her colleagues described Senator Eileen Daily as a 
woman who was concerned with the people she represented, rather than 
the politics of the day. While serving in Hartford for twenty years, 
she never stopped personally helping those living in her district near 
the Connecticut River and along the Long Island Sound.
  Prior to being elected to the Senate, Eileen served on the Westbrook 
Board of Education until 1983 when she became the town's First 
Selectwoman. When Eileen Daily went to Hartford as a State Senator six 
years later, she quickly earned the respect of her peers. She became an 
influential member and was made Chair of the Finance, Revenue and 
Bonding Committee--a position she held for five terms.
  Among her numerous accomplishments, Senator Daily co-authored the 
Small Town Economic Assistance Program which provided grants for major 
public works projects. The program was designed to fuel development in 
small towns that would otherwise be unable to afford funding. She 
played a crucial role in negotiating components of and funding for an 
innovative industrial wastewater treatment facility in Clinton.
  I am proud of working with Senator Daily to secure funding for a 
dredging project in Westbrook. A host of destructive storms had caused 
silt build up and erosion, impacting the marinas along the Patchogue 
River. Local restaurants and shop owners, dependent on the boaters, no 
longer have to worry about keeping their businesses afloat. I also 
collaborated with Eileen to protect the scenic Eightmile River 
Watershed and designate it within the national Wild and Scenic River 
system.
  In addition to her legislative work, Eileen also serves on the Board 
of Directors of the Valley Shore YMCA, the Middlesex County Substance 
Abuse Action Council, and on the Fiscal Chairs Committee of the 
National Conference of State Legislatures. In 2004, Senator Daily was 
part of a select trade delegation from the National Foundation of Women 
Legislators to visit the Kingdom of Bahrain. On her trip, Eileen 
assisted women who had recently gained the right to vote prepare to run 
in local elections.
  As Senator Daily finishes up her final term, I wish her the best of 
luck. Although she is retiring from public office, I have no doubt that 
she will remain an active and beloved member of her community. I ask my 
colleagues to join with me in congratulating Senator Eileen Daily on 
her retirement and recognizing her amazing career.

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