[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5098]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN MEMORY OF FORMER MEMBER GERALDINE FERRARO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Rangel) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RANGEL. My colleagues, I rise to pay tribute to one of the great 
Americans that we have ever had in this body, Congresswoman Geraldine 
Ferraro. Most of the people remember her as an exciting Vice 
Presidential candidate, but those of us in the New York delegation 
remember her as just a great personality, a great legislator, and a 
great American.
  We in the New York delegation have been fighting for time in which we 
could express ourselves, but the legislative calendar has not been very 
kind to us. So this morning we have two of her dear friends in 
Congresswoman McCarthy and Congresswoman Maloney, and I suspect that 
every time a New York Member gets an opportunity, we will grab that 
time so that no one will ever say that she did not leave footprints 
here that all of us were just so proud.

                              {time}  1020

  She succeeded Jim Delaney, who was known to be a very conservative 
Democrat from Long Island. And we all awaited to see just who was going 
to succeed Jim. And to see this beautiful, intellectual former teacher, 
former assistant district attorney to come here, we all waited with 
breath held back to see just what type of woman she would be.
  And even though she held closely those conservative views, it has 
never been presented to this body in a more eloquent, a more charming 
way as we found ourselves with this new exciting candidate who later 
became a Member and became a part of the leadership of the New York 
delegation. And once Tip O'Neill saw her, she became a part of the 
congressional Democratic delegation and just went on. Wherever she 
went, she excelled with her smile, with her brains and contributed so 
much in raising the standards of Members of Congress and those who 
would run for national office.
  I worked pretty closely with Senator Fritz Mondale when he ran for 
President of the United States. And while he was looking for a Vice 
Presidential candidate, I was so pleased, much surprised that Tip 
O'Neill said that he thought that within our delegation the answer to 
Fritz Mondale's problem would be the nomination of Geraldine Ferraro. I 
was surprised but so excited that I could serve on the Mondale team and 
to be able to say not only do we have a New Yorker, but we have an 
exciting candidate that could provide that shot in the arm that the 
Mondale campaign so badly needed.
  And I felt so much like an American when we found out that her 
background was one of near poverty. Her dad had come here from Italy. 
She just made the Italian American community just so proud. She made 
women from all over the country proud. She made New Yorkers proud. And 
certainly while she did not succeed in becoming a Vice President, as 
Mondale did not get the numbers that he needed, she became a national 
figure, a compassionate figure serving in the United Nations, serving 
on television in terms of the expression of views of the Democratic 
Party, raising funds for candidates.
  Then when she was stricken with this terrible disease that she died 
from, you would only hear her talking about her husband, John, her 
beautiful children, and how she can help to make it a better, more 
effective Democratic Party as well as what contributions can she make 
to this great country.
  So we in the New York delegation feel extremely proud that she was a 
part of us. She had her own personal family that she loved, her own 
church, her own community. She had the respect and support of all 
Americans and the deep-seeded feelings Italian Americans have. She was 
so well respected in Democratic circles and congressional circles.
  But most of all, we remember what a gentle lady she was. We have an 
expression in this House of Representatives, ``the gentleman from 
Wisconsin,'' ``the gentlewoman from New York.'' But anyone who had 
known Gerry, as we so affectionately called her, would know that she 
was indeed a strong leader but a gentle leader from Long Island and 
from New York.

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