[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 57 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4018-H4019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO DON YOUNG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Miss Gonzalez-Colon) for 5 minutes.
  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give tribute to 
Congressman Don Young.
  For almost 50 years, Congressman Don Young proudly represented all 
Alaska. The dean of the House, as he was affectionately known, was the 
ninth-longest tenured Member of Congress. His passing last week leaves 
a huge void for his constituents, for this body, and certainly for so 
many of us who had the honor of personally knowing Don. For me, 
personally, I thought

[[Page H4019]]

he was a mentor for many of the issues that we shared together.
  Our paths first crossed when I was 20 years old and I was elected 
among a group of fellow young Republicans to meet Congressman Young 
when he visited the island to discuss its future political status. It 
was in that moment when I was able to witness firsthand his loyalty to 
the causes he deeply cared about, including Puerto Rico's quest for 
statehood.
  Little did I know at that time that I would have the fortune and 
honor to serve alongside him in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 
to sit on the two committees he ever served on and chaired, the Natural 
Resources and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.
  Congressman Don Young had a unique perspective when it came to Puerto 
Rico's fight for statehood and full equality as American citizens. He 
could relate because he moved to Alaska shortly after it was admitted 
into the Union as the 49th State.
  As Alaska's sole Representative in the House, he understood better 
than anyone else the inequities under the territorial status and the 
opportunities that statehood brings. He knew what kind of fight we 
would be in for, and he was with us every step of the way.
  He understood the difficulties of representing a non-contiguous 
district here in this body, and because of this, Puerto Rico found in 
him an immediate ally. He frequently visited the island and even served 
as an election observer in one of our most recent referendums, 
demonstrating once again his longstanding commitment to ensuring the 
island's 3.2 million American citizens had their voice heard.
  When former Speaker Paul Ryan was giving a tribute to Congressman Don 
Young when he became the dean of the House, he said: You always knew 
where he stood, but more importantly, you always knew where you stood 
with him. And that is because he made no secret of his politics or his 
opinion.
  He was a staunch supporter of utilizing domestic energy and mineral 
production and infrastructure development to spur economic growth. He 
also fiercely defended Alaska Natives' rights and worked tirelessly to 
ensure they were enabled to improve their lives and economic status. He 
was a loyal friend to organized labor and to his fellow veterans.
  Congressman Don Young was a legislative force of nature. He was the 
primary sponsor of 123 bills that were enacted into law, including 
legislation for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in his first year in 
Congress. More often than not, he crossed the aisle on bills such as 
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, women's rights, such as the 
Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, and the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
otherwise known as the Young-Studds bill, which revolutionized Federal 
fisheries management and preserved the commercial fishing industry in 
Alaska and across the country.
  Mr. Speaker, Congressman Don Young's legacy will live on in every 
Alaskan, every Member who has served with him, and every staffer who 
has been fortunate to learn from him.
  His passing leaves a big void. He touched our lives deeply in so many 
ways, and this House will never be the same without Don.
  I pray for his wife, Anne; Congressman Young's two daughters; and his 
grandchildren.
  Godspeed, Don Young, and gracias.

                              {time}  1130
                         WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Carter) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, March is Women's History Month, 
and I can't let this month pass without highlighting two barrier-
breaking public servants.
  So many women have contributed greatly to Louisiana, but today, I 
want to take a few moments to celebrate two: Councilwoman Dorothy Mae 
Taylor and Congresswoman Lindy Claiborne Boggs.
  A New Orleans teacher and activist, Dorothy led a fight for equality 
within the segregated school systems while serving as a PTA president. 
Under her leadership, the city's Black and White schools finally 
achieved equal funding.
  While I didn't know it at the time, my educational experience as a 
boy growing up in New Orleans in the sixties and seventies would 
improve thanks to the work of Mrs. Taylor. During the civil rights 
movement, she successfully fought to desegregate New Orleans 
recreational facilities and register African-American voters.
  She was a woman of many firsts: the first woman of color to be 
elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives; the first African-
American woman to hold the head of a State department; and the first 
Black woman and one of the first two women to serve on the New Orleans 
City Council, in 1986.
  Councilwoman Taylor worked issues like criminal justice reform before 
they were popular. After a century of segregation, she was the first 
councilmember to move on a proposal to ban discrimination in Mardi Gras 
krewe membership, a move that paved the way for their eventual 
desegregation.
  I was elected to the New Orleans City Council in 1994, the year that 
Councilwoman Taylor retired, but I am so grateful to have known her and 
to have had an opportunity to learn from her many pearls of wisdom.
  Though she passed in the year 2000, she left a lasting mark on New 
Orleans, Louisiana, and our country.
  Congresswoman Lindy Boggs lived a life of service and warmth, 
unafraid to break the glass ceiling while overcoming great personal 
loss.
  Her husband, the Honorable Hale Boggs, served in Congress for decades 
until his tragic death in a plane crash. Following his passing, Lindy 
Boggs replaced him as Congresswoman Boggs and became the first woman 
ever elected to Congress from the State of Louisiana.
  It takes a lot of inner strength to do that, strength we also see 
today from our current colleague serving as a Member of Congress from 
Louisiana, Congresswoman Julia Letlow.
  In this very Chamber, Congresswoman Boggs fought tirelessly for equal 
rights for women and minorities. She also fought to make the House of 
Representatives more welcoming to women, successfully advocating for a 
women's-only space in a governing body that was more than 96 percent 
male. That room still exists today and is appropriately named the Lindy 
Claiborne Boggs Congressional Women's Reading Room.
  Throughout her life, Congresswoman Boggs famously opened her home, 
her kitchen, and her heart to the people of Louisiana and the community 
she loved so much.
  She passed in 2013, but we all uplift the memory of Congresswoman 
Boggs and Councilwoman Dorothy Mae Taylor for advancing issues that 
they had committed their entire lives to protecting and advancing 
voting rights, fighting against discrimination, providing healthcare to 
underserved members of our community, and fighting for humanity for 
people everywhere.
  In the spirit of the Honorable Lindy Boggs and the Honorable Dorothy 
Mae Taylor, we say thank you for your incredible service, and we will 
continue the drumbeat of these issues here in Congress.

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