[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12914]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 COMMENDING AMY ISAACS, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRATIC 
                                 ACTION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 19, 2009

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I rise to commend Amy Isaacs, National 
Director of Americans for Democratic Action, on the occasion of her 
retirement.
  For 20 years Amy has led ADA, the nation's most experienced 
organization dedicated to liberal policies, liberal politics and a 
liberal future. ADA was founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, John Kenneth 
Galbraith, Walter Reuther, Arthur Schlesinger, and Reinhold Niebuhr 
shortly after FDR died. Its goal then was to keep the New Deal dream--
its vision and its values of an America that works fairly for all--
alive for generations to come.
  Under Amy's leadership, ADA has never forgotten its long history and 
never wavered from those core liberal values. She began her career at 
ADA as an intern in 1969 and has moved through the ranks serving as 
Director of Organization, Executive Assistant to the Director and 
Deputy National Director, before becoming National Director in 1989.
  Amy brought to ADA a strong sense that protecting and enhancing the 
rights of working men and women was a critical ingredient in 
maintaining a healthy democratic society. Allying ADA with the labor 
movement's efforts to improve wages and working conditions for 
America's workers became a key part of ADA's mission under Amy's 
direction. She recognized that the efforts to increase the federal 
minimum wage needed non-labor allies. And she enthusiastically threw 
ADA into the forefront of that fight, by directing the formation of the 
Coalition for a Fair Minimum Wage which brought together progressive 
groups of all stripes: religious, economic, social, youth, labor, 
business and others. Amy's belief that a strong labor movement united 
with strong allied organizations not only led to an increase in the 
minimum wage in 2007 but to countless other victories for working men 
and women.
  Amy's work did not stop with the fight to end income inequality. Her 
career is defined by her commitment to erase the evils of 
discrimination so that everyone can be truly free to pursue their 
dreams. Not only is she a trailblazer in her own right, but she worked 
tirelessly as an advocate for all women. From fair pay to reproductive 
choice, from education to the workplace, Amy never tolerated an 
injustice against women or any other group striving for equal 
treatment.
  It is a rare thing to find someone willing to devote their life to 
advancing the causes in which they believe. I commend Amy for her 
dedication and service and wish her all the best as she starts the next 
chapter of her life.
  Amy once said to me, ``I've walked with giants'' when I asked for her 
thoughts about the extraordinary people associated with ADA's history. 
I say today, she is one of them.

                          ____________________