[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 101 (Friday, June 14, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E638-E639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF PAUL MOLLOY AND THE LIVES HE TOUCHED THROUGH 
                              OXFORD HOUSE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JAMIE RASKIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 14, 2024

  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life of an 
extraordinary Marylander, John ``Paul'' Molloy, who we lost two years 
ago this week. Paul was a public servant and a former Capitol Hill 
staffer with a storied career in both the House and Senate, having 
helped craft and pass such landmark laws as the National Rail Passenger 
Act of 1970 establishing AMTRAK, the Resource Recovery and Conservation 
Act of 1976, the nation's bedrock law governing the safe disposal of 
solid and hazardous waste. He was always committed to bipartisanship 
and insisted on celebrating the passage of every bipartisan law with 
the teams--Democrats and Republicans alike--who made them happen. Even 
in the midst of all these professional achievements, all was not as it 
seemed. In 1975, Paul found himself living on the streets, divorced and 
alone because of his stubborn battle with alcoholism.
  Fortunately, Paul was able to seek help and begin the long road to 
recovery. He checked himself into a Montgomery County-run halfway house 
in Silver Spring. This started a new chapter in his life that would in 
turn come to touch the lives of so many others in similar situations.
  When the County-run halfway house closed, Paul joined with his fellow 
residents to take over the house's management. They all agreed: they 
would split the rent and utilities equally; they would all contribute 
to the cooking and cleaning together; and they would accompany one 
another to treatment. If anyone relapsed, they would have to leave to 
protect the health of their fellow residents. They called this new 
sober-supportive living environment ``Oxford House,'' and began a new 
addiction recovery model that would spread across the country and the 
world. Today, there are over 3,300 Oxford Houses helping people 
maintain their sobriety in a supportive environment.
  The reason the first Oxford House wasn't the only Oxford House is 
simple--one of its cofounders was a congressional staffer. Paul had the 
knowledge, experience and contacts that proved instrumental in passing 
provisions in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 that created a revolving 
loan fund for supportive sobriety models like Oxford House. This fund 
was instrumental in establishing the network of recovery residences 
that has spread across the country.
  From the 1980s until the end of his life, Paul found renewed purpose 
as the Director of Oxford House, overseeing its resident-driven 
expansion into new neighborhoods and new states. Even as Paul carefully 
stewarded the expansion of new Oxford Houses, he was

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careful to maintain the organizational commitment to democratic self-
governance within each house, which has empowered generations of Oxford 
House residents to navigate the inevitable obstacles of life with 
persistence and patience.
  After his recovery, Paul and his wife, Jane, decided to remarry, and 
enjoyed another 34 years together. When he passed away two years ago, 
Paul left behind not only his beloved Jane but his five children and 
eight grandchildren. He is sorely missed, but his legacy of good humor 
and incomparable compassion lives on among his family and Oxford House 
family. I join the people of Maryland's beautiful Eighth District and 
people across the United States in expressing the warmest gratitude for 
Paul's work as we celebrate his life.

                          ____________________