[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 220 (Thursday, December 23, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF EDITH PRAGUE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 23, 2021

  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy of 
an eastern Connecticut legend, and my friend, Edith Prague.
  Edith's life was marked by service to others, as teacher, a social 
worker, a state legislator, a state commissioner. I met Edith in our 
days working together in the Connecticut General Assembly, where she 
served first a State Representative from 1982 to 1990 and then a State 
Senator from 1995 to 2013, and her example and guidance on how to 
conduct yourself as a public official influenced so many new 
legislators, myself included. She was a fierce and tenacious 
legislator--never one to back down from a tough debate or miss a chance 
to advocate for those she served.
  Edith was especially passionate about her work for seniors--from 
lowering drug costs, to expanding access to long-term care and home-
based care. In 1987 the State of Connecticut permanently established 
the ``CONNPACE'' program which was one of the few public programs that 
provided direct help to seniors for prescription drugs. That program 
was a protype for the federal Medicare Part D prescription drug program 
enacted by Congress two decades later. I remember well as a new state 
representative from Vernon, Connecticut watching Edith's inspirational 
passionate speeches on the floor of the general assembly the day 
CONNPACE was enacted. That passion led to her confirmation to serve as 
the first ever head of the CT Department of Aging, another Prague 
initiative, which gave her an even bigger platform to advocate for the 
needs and priorities of those in need in the later stages of life.
  That was always a hallmark of Edith's service--looking out for others 
and fighting on behalf of those who needed a champion. Edith called 
herself ``a social worker with power,'' and she worked every day to use 
her platform to make a difference in the lives of those she served and 
crossed paths with over her lifetime. The proof of that is in the 
countless people across eastern Connecticut who can say that Edith 
helped them in ways big and small.
  Above all, though, family was the most important part of Edith's 
life. Being a mother and grandmother was always top priority for Edith, 
and I know daughters Shelley, Benay and Joanne and grandchildren 
Nathan, Matthew, Sam, Josh, Chris, Brian, Katie, Tim and Michael, will 
remember her love and passion for her and for others in need.
  I will always be grateful to call Edith my colleague and my friend. 
She was truly one of a kind, a wonderful person we just won't see 
replicated. Our region, our state and our country are better for her 
lifetime of service and dedication to others.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Edith's life and legacy as 
eastern Connecticut mourns her passing.

                          ____________________