Speech of Honorable Joe Courtney - Congratulating Mary Ellen Klinck

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate a friend and stalwart in the town of East Haddam, Connecticut, Mary Ellen Klinck. This week she will be honored with the Frank Davis Award from the East Haddam Democratic Town Committee for her lifelong commitment to fairness and justice. I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Mary Ellen for her lifetime of service.

Mary Ellen's involvement in local government, state government and Democratic politics spans decades and has left a huge footprint of people she has helped and public officials she has helped elect. She has served as the Commissioner of the State Department on Aging, on the Connecticut State Environmental Committee, as an East Haddam Selectwoman, a member of the East Haddam Economic Revitalization Committee, the East Haddam DTC Chair and executive board member, as a member of the Democratic Women's Club, as a volunteer for countless Democratic campaigns, and of course, as a candidate herself.

The first time I met Mary Ellen she was a freshman state representative in 1987, when she worked with the new Democratic majority to permanently enact a state prescription drug program for seniors--known as the CONNPACE program. At the time, Medicare provided no coverage for outpatient prescription drugs and under Governor William O'Neill, and Commissioner Klinck, Connecticut became one of a handful of states to step up and provide affordable lifesaving medications. It took over 15 long years before Congress created Medicare Part D and followed Mary Ellen's vision for strengthening the health care of America's elderly.

After her historic term as Commissioner of the State Department on Aging, Mary Ellen continued to be a force of nature in public life, advocating for small business, the environment, and helping aspiring candidates for public office, such as yours truly who will be eternally grateful for all her help in my election to Congress in 2006 by the slender margin of 83 votes.

A tireless advocate for seniors, the environment, local small businesses and the history and culture of East Haddam, Mary Ellen's energy and dedication is unmatched. The East Haddam community is fortunate to have her experience and enthusiasm as a constant force for good. Few know East Haddam as well as Mary Ellen, and even fewer have devoted as many hours of their time working tirelessly to improve community life for its residents. I once again ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mary Ellen for this well-deserved honor.

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