[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2899]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HONORING PAT KELLY

  (Mr. WEINER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, a democracy is not beautiful edifices or 
beautiful buildings or even words written on paper. A democracy's 
foundation is the people. Today we pay tribute to the retirement of Pat 
Kelly, someone who has really helped our democracy thrive.
  For 54 years, she has been one of the people that, anonymously and 
without much fanfare, has made sure that this democracy, whose very 
foundation is the longest continually maintained journal in the world, 
kept running. She did it as a proud daughter of Brooklyn, and she comes 
from a truly patriotic family.
  Her mother was a Member of Congress, as the Speaker and minority 
leader have pointed out. Her grandfather, William Kelly, was the 
Postmaster General of Brooklyn. I was proud to kind of make quasi-
association with Pat when I was in the city council and I got some 
funds to fix up Kelly Playground, where so many of us enjoyed Brooklyn.
  You know, it really is true that many of us as Members of Congress 
blithely come through here. We cast our votes. We give our speeches. 
And it's easy for us to forget that this democracy is not about us. 
It's about the participation of citizenry and, of course, the hard work 
of so many people that make this institution so grand.
  Pat Kelly is such a person. She is an institution unto herself. She 
will be missed around here, but I can tell you she will not be 
forgotten. We will remember her for her charm, her smile, her grace, 
and the way with which she did her job.
  So to her family, the entire Kelly family, from all of the people 
from her home borough of Brooklyn, I want to say to her, 
congratulations on her retirement. She will be missed.

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