[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 21, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1881-S1882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING LOUISE SLAUGHTER

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last week Congresswoman Louise Slaughter 
of New York passed away after representing the Rochester area of that 
State for more than three decades. She was tough, unfailingly gracious, 
and wonderfully effective in helping people throughout her life.
  Louise carried titles you don't see often around here. She was the 
Congress's only microbiologist. She was also a blues and jazz singer as 
well. She was a fighter, first and foremost, earning the respect of her 
colleagues and even those who disagreed with her. I have counted her as 
a friend and an ally in many causes.
  She hailed from Harlan, KY, the daughter of a blacksmith in a coal

[[Page S1882]]

mine. Louise can trace her lineage to the legendary Daniel Boone, and 
you can hear it in her voice.
  She went to college and graduate school at the University of Kentucky 
to study microbiology and public health to honor her sister who passed 
away due to pneumonia at a young age.
  She went on to serve in both the Monroe County legislature and the 
New York State Assembly before joining Congress in 1986 to represent 
the Rochester New York area, which includes the area around the 
historic Seneca Falls Convention.
  She was one of only 29 women in Congress when she first arrived and 
quickly became a champion and a trailblazer for the American worker and 
the American women.
  Louise coauthored the landmark Violence Against Women's Act in 1994, 
curbing domestic violence and aiding its victims.
  She also helped shepherd the Affordable Care Act through Congress as 
the very first woman to chair the House of Representatives Rules 
Committee.
  Louise's storied career has included defending her constituents 
against Big Business and bringing national attention to pressing 
medical issues. She introduced the first legislation barring genetic 
discrimination in 1995. It finally became law in 2008.
  She introduced a bill every Congress to fight drug-resistant 
bacteria.
  In 2015, President Obama incorporated parts of Louise Slaughter's 
plan to identify superbugs and increased funding for new antibiotics 
and vaccines into the administration's initiative to encourage the 
responsible use of antibiotics in livestock.
  Louise also introduced the first bill to ban insider training by 
Members of Congress.
  She did all of this, and some of it controversial, and still won the 
respect of her colleagues.
  I worked with her on many projects, from the Bicameral High-Speed and 
Intercity Passenger Rail Caucus, to demanding the Supreme Court adopt 
an ethics code.
  It was not a coincidence that on the day when news of her passing 
broke, the words ``nicest'' and ``Rochester'' were trending on Twitter 
in Washington, DC.
  Through all of her hard work, she was smart and kind and always 
funny. She will be missed by her colleagues and friends and family, 
including her three daughters, Megan, Amy, and Emily Robin; seven 
grandchildren, Lauren, Daniel, Emma, Jackson, Mason, Linus, and Ione; 
and one great-grandchild, Henry.
  Louise was a great Congresswoman. I am going to miss her as a 
colleague and a friend.

                          ____________________