[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 111 (Thursday, July 16, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRATULATING MARY ELLEN KLINCK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 16, 2015

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate a friend and 
stalwart in the town of East Haddam, Connecticut, Mary Ellen Klinck. 
This week she will be honored with the Frank Davis Award from the East 
Haddam Democratic Town Committee for her lifelong commitment to 
fairness and justice. I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Mary 
Ellen for her lifetime of service.
  Mary Ellen's involvement in local government, state government and 
Democratic politics spans decades and has left a huge footprint of 
people she has helped and public officials she has helped elect. She 
has served as the Commissioner of the State Department on Aging, on the 
Connecticut State Environmental Committee, as an East Haddam 
Selectwoman, a member of the East Haddam Economic Revitalization 
Committee, the East Haddam DTC Chair and executive board member, as a 
member of the Democratic Women's Club, as a volunteer for countless 
Democratic campaigns, and of course, as a candidate herself.
  The first time I met Mary Ellen she was a freshman state 
representative in 1987, when she worked with the new Democratic 
majority to permanently enact a state prescription drug program for 
seniors--known as the CONNPACE program. At the time, Medicare provided 
no coverage for outpatient prescription drugs and under Governor 
William O'Neill, and Commissioner Klinck, Connecticut became one of a 
handful of states to step up and provide affordable lifesaving 
medications. It took over 15 long years before Congress created 
Medicare Part D and followed Mary Ellen's vision for strengthening the 
health care of America's elderly.
  After her historic term as Commissioner of the State Department on 
Aging, Mary Ellen continued to be a force of nature in public life, 
advocating for small business, the environment, and helping aspiring 
candidates for public office, such as yours truly who will be eternally 
grateful for all her help in my election to Congress in 2006 by the 
slender margin of 83 votes.
  A tireless advocate for seniors, the environment, local small 
businesses and the history and culture of East Haddam, Mary Ellen's 
energy and dedication is unmatched. The East Haddam community is 
fortunate to have her experience and enthusiasm as a constant force for 
good. Few know East Haddam as well as Mary Ellen, and even fewer have 
devoted as many hours of their time working tirelessly to improve 
community life for its residents. I once again ask my colleagues to 
join me in congratulating Mary Ellen for this well-deserved honor.

                          ____________________