Recognizing Ann Richard's Extraordinary Contributions to Texas and American Public LIfe

RECOGNIZING ANN RICHARDS' EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO TEXAS AND AMERICAN PUBLIC LIFE

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Ms. PELOSI. Thank you very much, Congressman Davis, and thank you for bringing this opportunity to the fore for us to sing the praises of the great Governor of Texas, Ann Richards. I am proud to join you today, Mr. Davis, in honor of Ann Richards, a true pioneer and one of Texas' great daughters.

Ann Richards expanded the realm of what is possible for women. As she loved to say: ``A woman's place is in the dome.' She is certainly smiling down on us today. As more women than ever rise to elective office, we owe a great debt to Ann Richards for helping to blaze the trail.

So important was she to the women in Congress who serve here now, as part of my swearing-in festivities, I had a tea honoring Ann Richards in which we reviewed a film of her life in which her beautiful granddaughter, Lily, made a presentation about her grandmother, from which we all drew strength and inspiration about this woman, a true, true pioneer. Ann Richards will be remembered for her devastating wit and gigantic heart, which led her to make real and lasting improvements for all Americans.

From health care, to education, to opening the doors of government to all, Ann Richards was one of our Nation's most fierce champions for expanding opportunity. Just as Ann was an advocate for all of America's children, she was particularly proud of her own. Ann's daughter Cecile Richards was an essential member of my team when I became leader and has since become President of Planned Parenthood of America. I know Ann was equally proud of her three children, Daniel, Clark and Ellen, and her eight grandchildren, I mentioned Lily. She was proud of all of them.

I hope it is a comfort to her entire family that so many people here in the Congress, indeed in the country, remember Ann with great enthusiasm and are grateful for her leadership. She has been gone a number of months now, but it is a loss that we sorely feel. It is a memory that we greatly cherish of a great woman, a leader in our country, and a person.

As I say to all of us in Congress or in elective office, all of us owe Ann Richards a great debt of gratitude. She is the gold standard for statesmanship, man or woman. Again, we are especially proud of the leadership she provided as a woman leader in our country.

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