[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 22, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H1317-H1318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE PAT SCHROEDER

  (Ms. DeGETTE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeGETTE. Madam Speaker, Colorado mourned one of its finest public 
servants this week when we lost former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder.
  Pat was a pioneer for women's rights, and she was the first woman 
ever elected to represent the State of Colorado in the U.S. House. For 
24 years, she fought tirelessly in this Chamber to expand the rights of 
women, families, and children across this country.
  She cofounded the Congressional Women's Caucus, and she was the first 
woman ever selected to serve on the House Armed Services Committee. She 
championed legislation to protect pregnant workers and women in the 
military, and she was the driving force behind the Family and Medical 
Leave Act.
  What made Pat so unique, though, wasn't just the brilliance that she 
had or her passion for public service. It was her razor-sharp wit.
  Pat could trade barbs with anybody at a moment's notice on any 
subject. She could disarm her most harsh critics with humor and grace, 
and she had

[[Page H1318]]

an unrivaled ability to light up almost any room she walked into. We 
can all agree there will never be another Pat Schroeder.
  I am grateful for the time I got to spend with her and for the 
friendship and mentorship she provided to me over the years.
  This is something that doesn't happen very often: Pat was elected to 
Congress when I was in high school; I never voted for anybody for 
Congress except for Pat Schroeder and myself.
  She is a giant whose shoulders we all stand on today, and she will be 
missed by everybody here, by everybody in the First Congressional 
District of Colorado, and by millions of people whose lives have been 
made better because of the legacy of Pat Schroeder.
  Madam Speaker, I thank you for helping me honor the memory of Pat 
Schroeder by observing a moment of silence.

                          ____________________