[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 27]
[House]
[Page 35996]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2000
                PAYING TRIBUTE TO HONORABLE JULIA CARSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Baldwin). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues this evening in 
honoring the life of our dear friend, Julia Carson. And I want to say a 
word in keeping with the comments by our colleague, our leader, John 
Larson from Connecticut, who spoke of the sacredness, really, of this 
hour that we can spend with one another to lift up the life of a 
colleague such as Julia Carson.
  Julia entered Congress the same year as my husband, Walter, in 1996. 
And the reason I honor this time together is that I have a poignant 
memory. My husband died suddenly, and my daughter and I found ourselves 
on the floor here listening to his colleagues, now my colleagues, speak 
of his life. And it was a tradition that I wasn't familiar with, but it 
touched me in a way that I know blesses the memory of those who have 
gone, who have served with us. And in this case, for someone as special 
as Julia Carson, it is a moment that this place becomes what it should 
be, and is treasured by me.
  Now, this Member of Congress became my colleague, Julia Carson, when 
I joined Congress in 1998. One of the first events I attended as a 
Member was an event held by domestic violence advocates, a coalition, a 
national coalition of the kind of grassroots organizations that I know 
Julia Carson represented in Indianapolis, but I also, in my previous 
life as a nurse in my community, knew very well at the community level. 
I wasn't as experienced when I came to Congress as Julia was when she 
did. And I listened to her. We were kind of lined up, Members of 
Congress, to address this coalition on domestic violence. I could speak 
from my professional experience. But she spoke before me. And she 
dazzled that crowd because she spoke as a survivor and as someone who 
had experienced every single thing that they themselves were here in 
this Capitol to represent on behalf of our community. She had broken 
the barriers that have entrapped so many Americans of color, Americans 
who are women. She knew how to fight for herself, for her children as a 
single mother, as a community member who knew what ceilings were like 
with class, gender, ethnicity, race, and she could relate that to 
people.
  On that day that I listened to Julia as a brand new Member, I knew 
that I was in a very special crowd if it included someone like Julia 
Carson. She knew how to take her experiences and become such a role 
model and strong advocate; civil rights, victims of domestic violence. 
She improved the lives of countless individuals, and she did so by 
fixing things that were broken, but also by inspiring people to not 
give up.
  And then, as we moved along and as has been referenced, her style and 
her elegance, I used to love to see her here and to see her bearing and 
to see her fitting the word ``queen'' in every sense of that word. What 
a delight to serve with Julia Carson. And we saw her, as her illness 
began to show its effects on her body, never on her spirit, never on 
her soul, never once dampened her smile, her dazzling beautiful smile. 
And when I would see her moving slowly, and then with assistance, even 
in a wheelchair, to come and move about, she never gave an indication 
of weakness or that she was down. She was always up and inspiring me 
when I would see her. I wanted to spend time with her.
  This was a tough time for her. She never let us know it. She kept 
fighting for all of the issues she cared so much about. And now I want 
to just close by saying, you know, Julia, we owe you to continue the 
legacy that you began.
  I think of Julia's suffering with lung cancer. And I think about the 
fact that three of her colleagues, four, now, of our colleagues this 
year have died of cancer from this place. And Julia, I make a pledge to 
you and to the others that we need to not rest. We need to follow your 
courage and your endurance and not rest until we do something about 
this dreaded disease, and do something here, and do it in your memory, 
and do some other things in your memory as well. And so, I make that 
pledge to you, Julia.
  And I also join my colleagues in remembering you forever for your 
wit, your elegance, your perseverance, and of course always, Julia, 
your smile. I will always love you and treasure your memory.

                          ____________________