[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4641]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             REMEMBERING CONGRESSWOMAN GERALDINE A. FERRARO

  Ms. LANDRIEU. On March 26, 2011, after 12 years of battling multiple 
myeloma, our country lost one of history's political trailblazers, the 
Honorable Geraldine Anne Ferraro. Ferraro served as a Congresswoman for 
the 9th District of New York from 1979-1985. At a time when less than 
two dozen women served in Congress, Geraldine Ferraro was a consistent 
voice for equality and unrelenting advocate for women's rights.
  In 1984--64 years after passage of the 19th amendment granted women 
the right to vote--Ferraro made history as the first female Vice 
Presidential candidate from a major U.S. political party, running 
alongside Walter Mondale. I vividly remember her words as I watched her 
speak during the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, 
``If we can do this, we can do anything.'' Millions of women and girls 
watched that speech, inspired by the fact that a woman was one step 
away from holding the second highest office in America. Although the 
Mondale-Ferraro ticket did not win the White House, Ferraro's words, 
leadership and courageous spirit would forever change the way women 
were viewed in American politics. Her candidacy had successfully 
shattered the glass ceiling for the office of the Vice Presidency. Two 
decades later, a Congresswoman from the same city where Ferraro 
accepted the Vice Presidential nomination would go on to become the 
first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. 
Geraldine Ferraro's journey to the precipice of the Vice Presidency 
helped pave the way for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's historic 
achievement. In addition, her nomination would help pave the way for 
Hillary Clinton's historic bid for the Democratic Presidential 
nomination.
  Geraldine Ferraro will always be remembered for her passion and 
dedication to women's issues. The daughter of Italian immigrants, 
Ferraro began her career as a prosecutor for New York City focusing on 
sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence. Ferraro carried that 
passion with her to the U.S. House of Representatives, quickly becoming 
a leader among her congressional colleagues. During her three terms as 
a Congresswoman, she served on a number of committees including: the 
Select Committee on Aging, the Public Works and Transportation 
Committee and eventually the House Budget Committee.
  In addition to her work in Congress, Ferraro remained a devoted wife 
and loving mother to three children. After leaving public office, she 
remained in the field of public policy serving as a fellow at the John 
F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University's Institute of 
Politics from 1988-1992 and as a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations 
Commission on Human Rights during the Clinton administration from 1993-
1996. She also authored three autobiographical books about her 
political career. She once again entered the world of politics in 2008, 
serving on Hillary Rodham Clinton's Presidential campaign.
  The life and accomplishments of Geraldine Ferraro opened the doors of 
American politics and the hearts and minds of thousands of women 
seeking to make a difference. She was an inspiration to me and 
thousands of women considering the challenge of a future in politics 
and government. Our country will always be grateful for her leadership. 
She will surely be remembered for her unique leadership, and her belief 
that, ``America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us.''

                          ____________________