[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6793]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE YVONNE BRAITHWAITE BURKE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 23, 2008

  Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Los Angeles 
County Supervisor Chair Yvonne Braithwaite Burke, who is retiring this 
year after an exceptional fifty years in public service.
  As an African American and a woman, Supervisor Burke has broken 
through professional barriers her entire career. She was the first 
African American woman elected to the California State Assembly, where 
she served from 1966 to 1972. She was the first African American woman 
from California elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she 
represented California's 37th Congressional District from 1972 to 1978. 
She was the first African American woman appointed to the House 
Appropriations Committee, the first woman to chair the Congressional 
Black Caucus, and the first Member of Congress to give birth while in 
office. She was the first female and African American to serve on the 
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
  I had the pleasure of serving with Supervisor Burke in both the 
California State Assembly and the House of Representatives. When my 
wife Janet and I visited Washington the year I decided to run for 
Congress, Supervisor Burke, who had been elected just 2 years before, 
went out of her way to make us both feel welcome. Supervisor Burke and 
I served 4 years together in Congress, and it was my good fortune to be 
able to continue to work with her when she left to be a member of the 
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. I have greatly valued our many 
years of friendship, the experience, wisdom, and grace she brings to 
every problem, and her strong commitment to public service.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Supervisor Burke's 
extraordinary 50-year career and extensive record of accomplishments. 
Janet and I wish her and her family the very best for the future.

                          ____________________