[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO CATHY HURWIT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to thank a 
remarkable woman whose commitment to justice has helped more people in 
my State and in our Nation than she will probably ever know.
  Her name is Cathy Hurwit. For the last 20 years, she has served as 
chief of staff to my friend from Chicago, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.
  Cathy Hurwit is retiring from public service at the end of this year. 
This week, as she was packing up her office in the Rayburn building, a 
coworker happened to see her pull a photo from a drawer and pack it 
away with her books and files. It was a signed photo of Cathy with 
President Barack Obama.
  That small incident tells you a lot about Cathy Hurwit. You see, for 
Cathy, public service has never been about personal gain. She has no 
use for ``vanity walls'' covered with photos of herself with powerful 
people.
  Where others might hang a photo of themselves with a President, Cathy 
Hurwit hangs a poster from a rally to save Social Security and 
Medicare. For her, public service has always been about helping others 
and making our government better and fairer.
  Cathy Hurwit is an icon in the progressive movement. She is committed 
to her values, and she is a genius at organizing and legislating. She 
knows how to use power to help others, whether in the minority or 
majority.
  She didn't set out to work on Capitol Hill. Her first job after 
college was working as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, helping migrant 
laborers in Utah.
  She went back to school to earn a master's in journalism. After her 
first year, she was hired as a summer intern by Congressman Toby 
Moffett. She never went back to ``J school.''
  She worked as Congressman Moffett's energy policy director for 3 
years.
  She then worked as adviser to the Subcommittee on Environment, 
Energy, and Natural Resources of the House Government Operations 
Committee, followed by 2 years as legislative director for then-
Congressman, now Senator, Ed Markey.
  Cathy left Capitol Hill to become legislative director for Citizen 
Action, a coalition of progressive organizations, from 1988 to 1997. 
After that came 2 years as legislative director and healthcare policy 
expert for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal 
Employees, one of the great public employee unions in our country.
  Cathy had vowed never to return to Capitol Hill. Thank goodness, 
Congresswoman Schakowsky persuaded her to change her mind.
  Few people know more than Cathy Hurwit about the complexities of 
healthcare policy or about the consequences of the healthcare policy 
decisions we make in Congress for ordinary people. If you are among the 
millions of Americans who are grateful that insurers can no longer deny 
you coverage or charge you astronomically more for health insurance 
because of a preexisting medical condition, you can thank Cathy Hurwit. 
She was fighting for a Patients' Bill of Rights more than 20 years ago. 
With Congresswoman Schakowsky and others, she helped to include that 
and other essential protections in the Affordable Care Act.
  Her work has improved the lives of millions of Americans.
  While Cathy is leaving the Hill, she is not leaving the fight. I hope 
that she will find a little more time to enjoy a good show at the 
Kennedy Center. I know that she will continue to be a force for social 
justice.

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