Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway

Floor Speech

Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway

Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4131) to designate a portion of California State Route 91 located in Los Angeles County, California, as the "Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway''.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4131

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) Juanita Millender-McDonald was born on September 7, 1938, in Birmingham, Alabama, to the Reverend Shelly and Everlina Dortch Millender.

(2) Juanita Millender-McDonald earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Redlands in 1981, and her master's degree from California State University, Los Angeles, in 1987.

(3) Juanita Millender-McDonald was a true trailblazer, entering public service in 1990 as a member of the Carson City Council and becoming the first African-American woman to serve on the Carson City Council.

(4) Continuing as a pioneer, Juanita Millender-McDonald served in the California State Assembly from 1992 to 1996, and in her first term, she became the first assembly member to hold the position of chairwoman of two powerful California State Assembly committees (Insurance and Revenue and Taxation).

(5) Continuing to make history, Juanita Millender-McDonald served in the United States House of Representatives from 1996-2007, becoming the first African-American woman to chair any full House Committee when on December 19, 2006, she was named Chairwoman of the House Committee on House Administration.

(6) A leader among leaders, a University of California study named Juanita Millender-McDonald one of the most effective Members of Congress.

(7) As a Member of Congress, Juanita Millender-McDonald was the first African-American woman to give the national Democratic response to President Bush's weekly radio address.

(8) Juanita Millender-McDonald initiated the first annual Memorial Day tribute to women in the military at the Women in Military Service For America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

(9) As the founder of the Congressional Goods Movement Caucus, Juanita Millender-McDonald was a leader in the promotion of interstate commerce and a tireless advocate for the Port of Long Beach, and the Port of Los Angeles.

(10) Juanita Millender-McDonald was instrumental in the $2,500,000,000 project that created the Alameda Corridor, a 20-mile rail expressway that opened in April 2002 and is a vital connection between the ports and America's rail system.

(11) As the founder and executive director of the League of African-American Women, an organization responsible for the annual ``AIDS Walk for Minority Women and Children'', the legacy of Juanita Millender-McDonald as a humble, selfless champion for women will endure for generations to come.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.

The portion of California State Route 91 located in Los Angeles County, California, from post mile 10.4 to post mile 11.1 shall be known and designated as the ``Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway''.

SEC. 3. REFERENCES.

Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the portion of California State Route 91 referred to in section 2 shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Richardson) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) each will control 20 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.

GENERAL LEAVE

Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 4131.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California?

There was no objection.

Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Mica for their help in bringing this legislation to the floor. H.R. 4131 honors the legacy of a woman who many of my colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee already know--former Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, a real trailblazer, my predecessor here in Congress and, for many years, my mentor and my boss. Words cannot describe the impact Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald had on so many lives, but today, I will do my best to reflect on her work and on her accomplishments.

Congresswoman McDonald was a real trailblazer in every sense of the word. She came to Congress in 1996 and became the first African American woman to chair any full House committee when, on December 19, 2006, she was named chairwoman of the House Committee on House Administration, one spot our Madam Speaker often calls, really, the House's mayor.

Likewise, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald initiated the first annual Memorial Day tribute to women in the military at the Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Some other firsts: Congresswoman McDonald was the first African American woman to give the national Democratic response to President Bush's weekly radio address. Also, Congresswoman McDonald was the first assemblywoman to hold the position of chairwoman on the Committee of Revenue and Taxation.

These accomplishments represent just a few of the many firsts that Congresswoman Millender-McDonald achieved, a long list that dates back to her days on the Carson City Council where she was the first African American woman to serve on that body.

You know, it kind of makes me think back to a story that people in the community talked about. Congresswoman McDonald didn't start off as a person who was going to be an elected official. She was a parent; she was a teacher; she was someone who worked for the second largest school district in this Nation. I think back to one incident that a lot of her constituents would smile about.

She lived not far from the Carson Mall, this mall that is in my district. Traditionally, when we have Christmas, we have Santa, but most people have a certain way of how we picture Santa looking. Ms. McDonald, having her five children, thought that Santa should maybe reflect our entire country, so she led this charge to have Santa be reflective of our entire community, and so it was always kind of cute. We used to refer to her as Mrs. Claus, and that's really how she got her start at being active and in understanding that her community needed to be represented and that her community needed to shine and that it needed to be able to grow and to be successful.

Therefore, the naming of this portion of the 91 freeway is fitting because the 91 freeway was a part of Congresswoman Millender-McDonald's district during her entire legislative career in the California Assembly and here in Congress. The 91 freeway also runs adjacent to the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy, a facility in my and her former district that she cherished dearly.

However, anyone who knew Congresswoman McDonald also knows that her family came first. Her husband, James, was her backbone, the love of her life. Together, they raised five beautiful children, and they adored their five grandchildren. However, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald's family includes more than her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Congresswoman Millender-McDonald's family also includes a list of elected officials at the Federal, State and local levels that she mentored in addition to me: Councilman Steve Bradford, Carson Mayor Pro Tem Mike Gibson and soon to be Assemblyman Isadore Hall.

Congresswoman McDonald was an effective Member of Congress who was known for her bipartisan spirit and for her fiscal conservative principles. I think you're going to hear from my colleagues today that one of the things that Congresswoman McDonald valued was her relationship on both sides of the aisle. Although she was concerned about social programs, she knew that you couldn't do them unless you could pay for them. That was really a strength and, I think, something that her colleagues loved.

These are the lessons that Congresswoman Millender-McDonald taught me when I was on her staff, and they have served as a guide throughout my own legislative career. I can honestly say, but for Congresswoman Millender-McDonald's willingness to take me under her wing and to hire me, I would not have had the opportunity to master the Federal system. She was my mentor, my political godmother and an inspiration to all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First of all, I want to commend the gentlelady from California (Ms. Richardson) for bringing this bill to the floor today. Certainly, it's a very appropriate bill because of all of the firsts that the gentlewoman from California has already mentioned and for many other reasons.

I'm honored to support H.R. 4131. As has been stated, this bill would designate a portion of California's State Route 91 in Los Angeles County as the Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway. This is a very fitting tribute to our former colleague Congresswoman Millender-McDonald.

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