[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 46 (Thursday, March 14, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING REP. LOUISE SLAUGHTER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 2019

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, this House suffered a tremendous loss a 
year ago. Louise Slaughter was not just a Congresswoman and Rules 
Committee Chair and Ranking Member. She was a respected colleague and a 
dear friend. She and I served together for more than thirty years in 
this House, and I will always remember her for her tenacity, her 
confidence, and her determination to make the American Dream attainable 
for everyone in this country.
  Louise's drive to fight for better conditions for working people in 
New York and in our country can be traced to her childhood. The 
daughter of a blacksmith from a Kentucky coal mining town, she grew up 
with a thorough understanding of the challenges faced by those working 
hard and trying to make it in America. Those experiences shaped her as 
a legislator in her adopted home of upstate New York, where she fought 
to ensure that communities had safe drinking water, clean air, and 
economic opportunities.
  In Congress, Louise dedicated herself to these same causes while 
promoting human rights and freedom abroad. We served together on the 
Helsinki Commission at the end of the Cold War, and I fondly recall 
traveling with her to the former Soviet Union, where we shared the 
experience of meeting with leaders and citizens of the newly 
independent states yearning to embrace American-style democratic 
institutions. I got to know her late husband Bob on those journeys and 
remember him fondly as well.
  Back home, Louise made a difference for our country in Congress, 
serving as the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Rules Committee. In 
that position, she helped shape nearly every piece of legislation 
passed when Democrats held the Majority from 2007 to 2011, including 
the Recovery Act, Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank, and student loan 
reforms. Working Americans owe Louise Slaughter a debt of gratitude for 
being their champion and fighting so hard over the years on their 
behalf.
  As we remember Louise, let us remember her for the courage she 
displayed, for her indefatigable nature, and for her wisdom and wit. I 
join with my colleagues in marking the one-year anniversary of her 
passing, and I extend once more my condolences to her family. I thank 
Rep. Tonko for leading the House's tribute, and I thank Rep. Morelle 
for continuing his predecessor's commitment to outstanding service for 
the people of New York's Twenty-Fifth District.

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