[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 20, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4415-H4416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO DON TRINKS--MAYOR OF WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to 
the mayor of Windsor, Connecticut, Don Trinks, a dear friend and person 
who served in the capacity of mayor for 22 years, and a public servant 
in Windsor for nearly three decades, as well.
  He is a lifelong resident in what he would claim is the oldest 
community in the State of Connecticut, the town of Windsor. It may be 
disputed by some in Wethersfield, but that is what Don would claim, and 
that is where he met his wife, Barbara, in high school. They went on to 
get married, and he went on along with Barbara to be the go-to people 
in the community of Windsor.
  Now, he also happens to run and manage, and probably is well known 
for running Bart's, which is second only to Augie & Ray's in East 
Hartford as the greatest hot dog you can receive in the State of 
Connecticut.
  Madam Speaker, Don's commitment to the community of Windsor is 
unsurpassed. In political office, Don always sought to bring people 
together. He has the right temperament for public service and the 
ability to bring people together, as he did time and again, and why he 
was so successful at getting more than $3 million to revitalize 
downtown Windsor.
  I was always happy to work alongside of him. It has been his 
leadership throughout his career, his temerity, especially during 
difficult times and especially during COVID, where he was one of those 
chief elected officials who led by example, especially for small 
businesses, of which he was very much one of them. He was also a 
devoted fan of Social Security, and we had an opportunity to work on 
that and visit many senior centers.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud to submit for the Record a tribute to Don 
Trinks, the mayor of Windsor for 22 years.
  I commend Congresswoman Julia Letlow who came before the Committee on 
Ways and Means last week to discuss her concerns about WEP and GPO and 
Social Security. I look forward to working with her. I think there is 
an opportunity here, Madam Speaker, to recognize with more than 10,000 
baby boomers a day becoming eligible for Social Security, with almost 
70 million people who are currently receiving Social Security, and with 
more than 40 percent of them Social Security being their only form of 
retirement and pension, it is long overdue for the United States 
Congress to act.
  It has been 52 years since Congress has enhanced Social Security. 
Madam Speaker, more than 5 million of our fellow Americans get below-
poverty level checks from the government, and, of them, the majority 
are women, because they were the care providers and were at home with 
their children or caring for someone that was sick, and also because 
when they were in the workforce they weren't making as much as their 
male counterparts.
  There is no rational reason why these people in the wealthiest Nation 
in the world, who have worked all their lives

[[Page H4416]]

and paid into the system, gets below-poverty level checks, except for 
the fact that the United States Congress hasn't taken any action to 
correct this. It is long overdue.
  With people like Julia coming in, Mr. Speaker, I know that there is a 
great opportunity for us to come together and succeed and make sure 
that all Americans know that Social Security is there for them.
  This is not the time to talk about cutting their benefits. This is 
the time to talk about extending their benefits.
  Yes, it is true that people are living longer, but for every year you 
raise the age of Social Security, that is a 7 percent cut. What sense 
does it make if you are living longer that you receive less Social 
Security money to live on? Of course, it does not.

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