[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9678]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ellison). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SHERMAN. You know, it is heartwarming to sit here for a while and 
to listen to these personal tales of our good friend, Juanita 
Millender-McDonald.
  I first got to know Juanita in our days as activists during the 1980s 
on the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee. Both of us 
entered State government in the early nineties; both of us came here to 
Congress in the mid-90s.
  Juanita broke barriers. Juanita led the charge. She was the first 
African-American woman on the Carson City Council, the first African-
American woman to chair the Revenue and Taxation Committee of the 
California Assembly, where I enjoyed working with her on State tax 
issues. Juanita was the first African-American woman to give the 
Democratic Radio Address response. And finally, she was the first 
African-American woman to serve as Chair of the House Administration 
Committee.
  Now, her fine work on that committee has been detailed by so many of 
the prior speakers who have come to this floor. And the prior speakers 
have also spoke of her work on the Transportation Committee, where we 
in Southern California are so grateful to her for her efforts on behalf 
of the Alameda corridor.
  Juanita will be missed, of course, by her husband James, by her five 
children and by her five grandchildren. She will be remembered here for 
her record of legislative accomplishment, and she will be remembered 
here for the spunk she showed every day. And finally, she will be 
remembered for the courage she showed in these final days, because 
Juanita barely mentioned to her closest friends that she was a bit 
under the weather. Right up to the end she was fighting the good fight. 
Juanita's courage and strength will be remembered.

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