[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10119-10120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MARY JO CODEY

 Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the legacy 
of a great New Jerseyan upon her retirement from a 40-year teaching 
career. As Mary Jo Codey wraps up her final school year at Gregory 
Elementary, a public school in West Orange, NJ, we congratulate her on 
a long and fruitful career inspiring and educating our children while 
putting them on the path to success. Even as the first lady of New 
Jersey under the administration of her husband, Richard Codey, Mary Jo 
refused to leave the children she loved so much, saying, ``When asked 
if I would resign my teaching responsibilities during my tenure as the 
First Lady,

[[Page 10120]]

my response was consistently `no.' Teaching was and is my passion!'' 
Her dedication and service to her students and to her State will not 
soon be forgotten.
  While teaching may have been Mary Jo's first passion, her drive to 
make life better for children and families extends well beyond the 
classroom. I have been honored over the years to work closely with Mary 
Jo on an issue near and dear to her heart. Ten to 20 percent of women 
across America are suffering from postpartum depression, and after the 
birth of her first son in 1984, Mary Jo was one of them. Then, after 
the birth of her second son, her depression returned, but this time she 
was able to recognize it and seek treatment for it. Instead of hiding 
her illness or being ashamed of it, Mary Jo's personal struggle became 
the motivation for her to raise awareness for postpartum depression and 
work tirelessly to improve diagnostic and treatment options on the 
State and Federal level.
  Thanks to her leadership, New Jersey became the first State to 
provide resources to ensure that uninsured mothers can receive 
postpartum depression screening and treatment. I am proud to say that 
Mary Jo and I worked together to pass the Melanie Blocker Stokes Mom's 
Opportunity To Access Health, Education, Research, and Support for 
Postpartum Depression Act, or MOTHERS Act, as part of the Affordable 
Care Act in 2010. This legislation encourages better education, support 
services, and research for postpartum depression, and we owe its 
passage largely to advocates like Mary Jo Codey. Now, we still have a 
long way to go to ensure that postpartum depression and other aspects 
of maternal mental health are given the awareness and resources that 
they deserve. However, even as she closes the book on her teaching 
career, I know that Mary Jo's work is far from over, and she will not 
rest until we reach our goal. Whether it is her advocacy on behalf of 
postpartum depression or breast cancer, of which she is a survivor, her 
commitment to improving the lives of children, mothers, and families is 
unwavering.
  With that, I look forward to continuing to work with Mary Jo in the 
coming years, thank her for her incredible service to New Jersey and 
all of us, and congratulate her on her retirement.

                          ____________________