May 14, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 80 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H3782-H3785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE ELLEN TAUSCHER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) is 
recognized for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the 
majority leader.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise really on behalf of the entire 
California delegation to honor our friend and former colleague, Ellen 
Tauscher, who passed away much too soon last month at the age of 67.
  Ellen was a trailblazer in virtually everything she did in her 
remarkable life, and her passing is a great loss not only to 
California, not only to our country, but to the world.
  I met Ellen when she ran for office, but I got to know her here. I 
recall so well Democratic Congresswomen--and there weren't as many of 
us at the time--all telling their own personal story and all of us 
being kind of surprised that we came from modest beginnings. Ellen was 
born in Newark, New Jersey. Her father was a shop steward at the UFCW, 
and he was at the Shop Rite store in Union City. Her mom, like my mom, 
was a secretary. But, she went on, because this country gave her an 
opportunity, she got a great education, and, of course, then, as will 
be said later tonight, became one of the youngest and one of the first 
women to become a member of the New York Stock Exchange.
  She excelled in the issue of childcare. She wrote a book and did some 
technology about that before she ran for office.
  But I ran into her in 1996 when I had been in Congress just a short 
time, and she decided and actually was recruited to run against a very 
conservative gentleman who had been in the House, but was really more 
conservative than his district, especially when it came to being pro-
choice and the need to do something sensible about gun violence. I 
remember Ellen had a parade when she ran for office, and people were 
cheering her on. I thought: This woman is going to win this seat.
  Sure enough, she did.
  She was so popular and so different than the predecessor. People were 
talking about Tauscherism in the State of California, using her last 
name as an -ism. Really what it was was a very sensible, business-
oriented approach, heavily interested in technology but wedded with 
good values that reflected her constituency: pro-choice, pro-education, 
pro-equal rights, pro-LGBTQ rights, and that was what she brought to 
this body.
  We remember her for the mark that she left on this institution. She 
continued to lead on the Armed Services Committee where she chaired the 
Strategic Forces Subcommittee and was a leading figure on arms control 
policy.
  She also worked on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in 
a remarkable way. Not only was she a national leader on environmentally 
sustainable transportation policy, as a founding member of the 
Intelligent Transportation Systems Caucus, she also delivered for her 
district. It really mattered to her that she got a widening of the 
Sunol Grade on 680 which made a difference, not only for her district 
but for mine, as people were trying to commute between the two regions.
  She got a fourth bore for the Caldecott Tunnel so that commuters 
could get around. She played a leadership role securing funding for the 
BART extension to the San Francisco Airport and her work to get the 
Army Corps to fund the dredging of the Port of Oakland.
  I am particularly excited by the work we did together for the 
Lawrence Livermore National Lab as well as the Sandia Lab. She was so 
interested in the National Ignition Facility. She saved the funding, 
she was there at the groundbreaking, she was there when we opened the 
facility, and she really believed that the science that was going on 
there would change the world, and I still believe that it will.
  But here in the House I think all of us will remember her as the 
presiding officer. Ellen was completely unflappable. I can remember 
when we had the worst, most contentious issues, we knew it would be 
okay because Ellen would take the dais and she would preside. She would 
help people calm down, focus on the disagreements, and adhere to the 
rules of the House. Nothing could shake her ability to preside in a 
wise, thoughtful, and very calm way over the House of Representatives.
  We had such fun with her. Women Members went out to dinner with her 
and shared stories. She never put up with nonsense. She was very matter 
of fact. She had a wicked sense of humor, but she was someone with 
tremendous integrity. Of course, as we know, that integrity, expertise, 
and vision was recognized when President Obama nominated her to be 
Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. 
She was confirmed and left the House.
  She did important things in that office. She helped negotiate the New 
START Treaty with the Russian Federation--the first agreement signed 
with Russia in nearly 20 years--and it was ratified by the U.S. Senate.
  After leaving the Department of State, she continued to make 
contributions. She served on the Board of Regents for the University of 
California. She continued to make sure that the science at Lawrence 
Livermore National Lab was protected and also at Los Alamos. She 
continued in her efforts to make sure that the cutting edge was always 
protected as a member of the Board of Advisors of SpaceX, eHealth, and 
other important technology businesses.
  These achievements really don't do justice to Ellen's legacy. I know 
from our many good times talking with her, her funny irreverence and 
her smart insight, the one thing that she loved more than anything else 
on this Earth was her wonderful daughter, Katherine, who I hope is 
watching tonight. We loved Ellen Tauscher, and she loved Katherine.
  Not every Member who planned to be here this evening was able to. We 
will make sure that all of the statements are entered into the Record.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who 
is the majority leader of the House of Representatives.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the dean of the California delegation 
and a good friend of Ellen's for yielding.
  Ellen was one of my closest friends in the Congress of the United 
States. I think Ellen and I voted the same about almost every time the 
lights were turned on and the votes were requested.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Lofgren and the California delegation 
for organizing this tribute.
  I rise to join in remembering a dear, dear friend, an outstanding 
colleague, and a respected public servant.
  In recent days, I have been asked to describe Ellen. Words that come 
to mind are extraordinarily accomplished, stateswoman, a diplomat, an 
expert in our Nation's defense as a member of the Armed Services 
Committee and as a member of the State Department, and a politician in 
the best sense of the word. Her skill in rallying disparate interests 
behind a common objective was, I think, almost unmatched.
  Ms. Lofgren referred to her as presiding. She was a Democrat 
presiding in a House in which all respected her, which is why she was 
so effective. She would look to the Republican side of the aisle, and 
she would tap the gavel. They would know she knew what was right, and 
they did not want to cross her.

  Her determination not to be swayed from the principles to which she 
always remained true was a hallmark of Ellen Tauscher. Many in the 
House and in our country will remember Ellen for having been one of the 
first women, as has been pointed out, on the New York Stock Exchange at 
the age of 25.
  I can imagine there were a lot of old bulls on Wall Street who said, 
what is that young woman, that young, blonde, beautiful woman doing 
sitting on the Stock Exchange, a seat on the Stock Exchange?
  And the answer to that question: Damn well--like everything she did.

[[Page H3783]]

  Many will remember her for the 13 years she represented California in 
the Congress and for her very successful tenure as a top arms control 
negotiator with the Russians. But I will remember her as one of my 
dearest and closest friends in the House.
  I will never forget Ellen's kindness, sincerity, advice, counsel, and 
loyalty. I will never forget her honesty and her intellect. Neither 
will I forget Ellen's determination to see each of us here, regardless 
of our party or background, as a true colleague in service.
  That is how she was able to be so successful as a legislator.

                              {time}  2045

  As chairwoman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the Armed 
Services Committee, she was respected not only as a presiding officer 
but also for the depth of her knowledge as it related to our national 
security and for the fact that she was always genuine.
  You knew that Ellen Tauscher was not taking a position for show. She 
was taking it because she believed deeply that it was in the best 
interest of our country.
  Because of her work on the Armed Services Strategic Forces 
Subcommittee and extraordinary efforts as a diplomat, Americans are 
safer today.
  Ellen worked tirelessly during the Obama administration to negotiate 
the New START Treaty, which reduced American and Russian nuclear 
arsenals to their lowest levels in more than half a century. In that 
pursuit, she drew on the same indomitable nature, attention to detail, 
and determination to achieve results that made her so successful in 
business, in the Congress, and as a campaigner for Senator Feinstein.
  She chaired Senator Feinstein's first two campaigns for the United 
States Senate, and Dianne Feinstein was one of her closest friends.
  I join the Senator from California in expressing my deep sadness at 
the loss of my dear friend, and I join with my colleagues from both 
sides of the aisle who have said, very rightly, that, with Ellen's 
passing, this institution has lost one of its most outstanding former 
Members.
  My thoughts are with Katherine, who, as Zoe Lofgren said, she adored. 
We may have been her good friends, but we were a far-back second to 
Katherine, a beautiful young woman in her own right, a wonderful 
athlete, and like her mother, bright, ambitious, fair, and loving.
  We send our sympathy to her entire family. May Ellen's memory be an 
inspiration to all of us in this House to serve in the way she served: 
with honor, with humility--humility but also great self-confidence--and 
with determination to see every vote as an opportunity to do right by 
those who sent us here.
  That is what Ellen did every day during her tenure.
  I thank Ellen for her service. I thank her for her friendship. I 
thank her for making America better. We miss her.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, all of us knew Ellen in a different way, 
but those who served with her on the Armed Services Committee knew her 
work there, so I would like to recognize the gentlewoman from 
California, Susan Davis, who served not only in the delegation with 
Ellen but also on the Armed Services Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis).
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be here this 
evening and to have a chance to talk about my friend and my colleague, 
Ellen Tauscher.
  Ellen, as we are all hearing, was really a trailblazer. She was a 
trailblazer, a businesswoman. She was a single mom, a philanthropist, a 
diplomat, a mentor, and for so many of us, a dear friend.
  If you were a woman in California politics in the last three decades, 
Ellen probably had a significant impact on your life. She showed us all 
that kindness and charity can go with strength and wit.
  We all have personal experience with Ellen. I actually met Ellen 
about 1996, I think it was. We happened to be at a National Women's 
Political Caucus meeting.
  What was funny about that is that we kind of caught one another's 
eye. We have heard people talk about no-nonsense Ellen. Something was 
going on. We were a little impatient, and we kind of both looked at 
each other like: Is this really what we came for?
  That was the start of a friendship.
  When she learned later that I was considering running for Congress, 
she got in touch with me. She said: If you are coming to D.C., then I 
have a place for you to stay. Please stay at my house, and let's have a 
chance to talk, sit down and really get to know one another.
  That was pretty cool because, as I said, it had just been a small 
encounter that we had had sometime before.
  So we sat at her dinner table, and I remember asking her about what 
she was doing and what she was learning in Congress. She told me about 
the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, and I was really very impressed with 
that because the thought of working on arms control just seemed like, 
first, a fantasy and, then, just a really hard thing to do.
  She said that one of the reasons that she was interested in doing 
that, aside from the fact that she lived so close to Lawrence Livermore 
National Laboratory and she had a real interest in having them be a 
premier lab for much of the testing in the future, was she felt that 
she wanted to show that women could do that job.
  Of course, we knew that she was the one who was capable to do that 
and probably was the first woman to have served on that committee.
  I remember, too, at her table, just talking about her daughter, 
Katherine, and how proud she was of Katherine, all her hopes and dreams 
for her, and how tough it was being a mom and also wanting to make her 
schedule work for her daughter.
  Then, of course, as a colleague on HASC, we were both on the 
committee when our country faced the great tragedy of 9/11, and just 
being able to respond to so many of the issues around that.
  I always went to Ellen when we had a chance to talk about what we 
either had to vote on or what we were facing on the committee. 
Sometimes I would share with her: I am not sure what to do in this 
instance.
  She would look me straight in the eye, as she would always--and you 
can tell in her eyes here--with that kind of wry smile. She would say: 
Susan, you are going to do the right thing.
  Honestly, it gave me the confidence to do the right thing, and I knew 
that Ellen was going to do that as well.
  A number of years into her term and the great job that she did here 
presiding in the House, at the request of President Clinton, she became 
and was able to be interviewed for and go before the Senate as Under 
Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, as 
people have mentioned.

  In that role, she traveled extensively and was really the face of our 
country in those negotiations with the Russians. Quite honestly, from 
the discussions that I had with Ellen, I think they didn't know what to 
make of her because she was so direct and so strong. She wouldn't take 
anybody's nonsense in that role.
  We were all so proud of her, knowing what she was able to accomplish, 
and people have referred to that as well.
  I want to be mindful here of the role that she played on nuclear 
weapons policy, how she came at that, and how she felt it was so 
important for a woman to be in that position someday.
  She didn't know that she was going to be the Under Secretary for Arms 
Control and International Security. I don't think she even thought that 
was a possibility at one time, but she wanted to be ready. She wanted 
to be prepared. That is what she did so much of her life.
  Following a number of years facing cancer, being a survivor and all 
that she went through with the best attitude in the world, even in 
recent months, she was still speaking before the Armed Services 
Committee on nuclear weapons policy.
  Her work on nuclear security made this world measurably safer and 
will have a lasting impact on future generations.
  We relied so much on her knowledge and her counsel as we considered 
the most sobering aspect of national security: weapons with the power 
to destroy life as we know it on this planet. We looked to Ellen for 
that.
  While her work was critically important, always, for Ellen, her 
family came first. So our thoughts today are with her daughter, 
Katherine, everyone

[[Page H3784]]

who was close to her in her community, and those she worked with 
throughout this world. Our thoughts are with all of them, and our 
blessings go with that.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, all of us, as I said, knew Ellen in 
different ways. I was surprised that the gentlewoman from Florida 
probably knew Ellen Tauscher longer than anyone else in this body, and 
I am so pleased to recognize Donna Shalala.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Shalala).
  Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the California delegation for 
giving me this opportunity.
  I met Ellen Tauscher in the 1980s when I was the director of the 
American Stock Exchange and she was an officer. She was brilliant, and 
she had a heart of gold.
  We worked together again in the 1990s when she was elected to 
Congress. She hadn't changed. She could still focus, razor sharp, on 
any issue.
  She was a classic citizen legislator. She had had a previous 
extraordinary career in finance and then committed herself to public 
service. All of us who knew and worked and played with her loved her. 
Actually, we had a date this month for dinner at her favorite 
Georgetown restaurant.
  She will be missed as a kind, warm, and wonderful friend, as a classy 
colleague. She will be remembered as a patriot who loved her country 
and served it well.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, talking about how we each knew Ellen in 
different ways, she was very active in the New Democrat Coalition. We 
have someone who served with her as one of her cohorts, as a New 
Democrat who, I believe, chaired it with her at one time. I am happy to 
recognize Ron Kind.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind).
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California, first 
of all, for recognizing me tonight but also for securing this Special 
Order to honor one of our great friends and great colleagues in this 
institution, Ellen Tauscher. I also thank   John Garamendi for helping 
to organize tonight's Special Order as well.
  Ellen was a true patriot. She was a great American, someone who loved 
the congressional district that allowed her to represent them, loved 
her home State, and loved our country even more.
  I got to know Ellen as a member of the incoming class of 1997. We 
were both present at the creation of the New Democrat Coalition. It 
didn't exist back then, until we first joined. Then, with the help of 
Cal Dooley, another California Representative; Tim Roemer; Jim Moran; 
and Adam Smith, who is now chairing the Armed Services Committee and 
was also one of the founding Members, we helped form the New Democrat 
Coalition, where Ellen really excelled in her leadership. It was fun 
getting to work with her on such a personal level.
  The committees to which she was assigned were a perfect fit for her 
and for the district and State she represented: the Armed Services 
Committee, where she developed such great expertise and knowledge on 
national security issues, but especially with the arms control issue 
that she became world renowned over; the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee, with all of the work that she did to help 
rebuild America the way it should be, but especially the infrastructure 
projects that were so crucial to her area of California that she would 
fight doggedly over on that committee; and then her work on the Science 
Committee, which really fit in well with her leadership role with the 
New Democrat Coalition.

  The New Dems were a group of Members here in the Democratic Caucus 
who were more moderate, more pragmatic. To Ellen, being moderate and 
pragmatic wasn't an ideology; it was a way of life, a way of being able 
to get things done in an institution where it is sometimes very 
difficult to get things accomplished.
  She was always looking to find those bipartisan coalitions in order 
to get things across the finish line, being respectful and listening, 
especially to our colleagues across the aisle, knowing that there was 
common ground to be had that we could work on together in order to 
represent the interests that she represented in California but all our 
interests here in this country.
  On the Science Committee, she was devoted, as she was with the New 
Democrat Coalition, to making sure that our country remained the most 
innovative, competitive, and creative nation in the world, especially 
at a time of great technological change.
  She came in with me in the late 1990s during the information 
revolution that was taking place, the dot-com era, with, of course, a 
tremendous impact in California, as it had throughout the rest of the 
country, being able to wrap our arms around that, understanding the 
vast implications that this was going to have on American 
competitiveness abroad. How to stay on that cutting edge of new 
discovery in the global information technology economy while also 
making sure that none of our citizens were left behind with that rapid 
change and our role in that global economy, that was something Ellen 
was deeply devoted to, something that she took up as chair of the New 
Democrat Coalition over two terms, making sure that we were spending 
time to understand the policy implications of the high-tech revolution, 
artificial intelligence, robotics, and the role our country can play in 
advancing that.

                              {time}  2100

  Again, how can we best empower all Americans so that they can be full 
participants of that global economy and rapid change? We haven't always 
done a good job at that, quite frankly.
  I think that is one of the reasons there is so much consternation and 
even anger back home, because many people feel that they haven't been 
empowered with the skills they need to be full participants and to be 
successful in this highly charged economy.
  That was something that Ellen recognized and was devoted to trying to 
find answers to when she showed up at work every day.
  It was a great honor to be able to serve with her in that coalition 
and to later assume the chair position from her in order to continue to 
build it.
  I know Ellen was particularly proud of last fall's election, the fact 
that 41 of the new Democratic Members who joined Congress decided to 
join the New Democrat Coalition, putting our number up to 101, which 
was unfathomable at the time we were starting the coalition in the late 
1990s, let alone just in recent years.
  It shows that the New Dems have a very important role to play, as 
Ellen recognized, in helping to shape the agenda and the policies that 
will make sense and work for the people back home.
  I appreciated being able to work closely with her in that capacity. I 
learned a lot from the skills that she brought, with her varied 
interests and backgrounds that she had before Congress. As was 
mentioned earlier, she was one of the first women to hold a seat on the 
New York Stock Exchange, a very accomplished business person herself.
  I think that is, in a lot of ways, where she derived her political 
pragmatism from, being able to get things done, and the role that she 
played in the respective committees, in the coalition, and in the 
friendships and partnerships that she was able to form so successfully 
here in Congress.
  She wasn't one who took no for an answer. She always felt that there 
was a path to success in whatever endeavor she performed. That is why 
it made perfect sense that, in the first Obama term, he, along with 
Secretary Clinton, appointed her for Under Secretary for Arms Control 
and International Security. It was perfect for her personal background 
and portfolio, and she became the negotiating face of America when she 
was out negotiating the arms control treaties.
  Everyone knew, with great confidence, that when Ellen entered that 
negotiating room, there would be no one more prepared, no one who had 
done their homework more than she.
  It even went beyond the intricacies and the complexities of arms 
control and nuclear reduction. It was also getting to understand and 
appreciate where the negotiators across the table were coming from, the 
political constituencies that they had to answer to back home.
  With her own political background, I think she brought that bigger 
perspective to these negotiations. Because of that, the success that 
she was able to

[[Page H3785]]

achieve on behalf of our country was something that she was able to 
achieve with her negotiating counterparts from across the table. That 
is a skill that we need to cherish and recognize more, quite frankly, 
in our various agencies throughout government.
  When she stepped down from that position, she immediately was sworn 
in as Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense at the 
State Department. It was just the next iteration of that skill set that 
she brought in the course of these negotiations.
  She represented us so very, very well. We were all so proud of her, 
those of us who had gotten to know her throughout the years, seeing 
what she was able to accomplish in her post-Congress career, still 
finding a way to serve her Nation in a different capacity.
  She will be deeply missed. She was loved by those who knew her in 
this institution.
  Of course, she had a daughter, Katherine, whom she adored above 
anyone else. As much fun as it was serving with Ellen when we came in, 
in 1997, and throughout the years, it was perhaps as much fun watching 
Katherine grow up in our midst, seeing her become such the accomplished 
and beautiful young woman that she is today. Ellen was so proud of 
that.
  On behalf of the Class of 1997, on behalf of the New Democrat 
Coalition, we thank Katherine and the entire Tauscher family for 
sharing Ellen with us through these years of her public service, first 
in Congress and then during the Obama administration.
  She was a great friend, great colleague, great Representative for her 
district in California. More importantly, she was a great American and 
a great patriot who believed in the future of our country.
  She will be sorely missed but never forgotten, the accomplishments 
that she was able to achieve throughout her distinguished career here 
and throughout her entire life.
  May God bless her and take her into His care.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, much has been said about the New Dems, and 
I would like to recognize the current New Dem chair. I yield to the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer).
  Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for 
organizing today's Special Order to celebrate the life of Ellen 
Tauscher.
  I didn't serve with Ellen. I had the opportunity to meet her and 
enjoyed that, and I now have the distinct honor of serving in a role 
that she held, not just previously but exceptionally, as chair of the 
New Democrat Coalition.
  As my friend from Wisconsin said, the New Dems is made up of forward-
thinking, pro-growth, pro-innovative, and fiscally responsible 
Democrats. This Congress, we have 101 members, making us now the 
largest ideological caucus in the House. It is the largest the 
coalition has ever been.
  It is safe to say, and it is certainly not hyperbole to say, that 
this coalition would not be what it is if it wasn't for Ellen Tauscher. 
The coalition came into existence with the election of Ellen Tauscher 
and several other current and former colleagues back in 1996.

  Shortly after she took office, Peter Beinart wrote a profile piece 
about Ellen and the New Democrats in Time magazine. In it, Beinart 
describes the early days of a growing New Democrat Coalition that 
represented predominantly suburban districts across the country. He 
declared the Democratic center was moving toward what he called 
Tauscherism, a phrase that stuck around to describe the socially 
progressive, fiscally moderate, pro-business focus that were many of 
the policies New Democrats advocated not just then but now as well.
  Ellen quickly gained respect, both in the coalition and within the 
broader Caucus. She was elected to the serve as the New Dem chair in 
2005 and served in that position until 2009 when she left Congress to 
serve as Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security 
Affairs at the State Department.
  As chair, Ellen made a consequential impact on the direction of the 
New Democrat Coalition. Under her chairwomanship, the coalition fought 
for a forward-looking innovation agenda, strong national defense, and 
more effective government.
  Ellen also rose in leadership positions on the Armed Services 
Committee, chairing the Strategic Forces Subcommittee. She worked 
closely with our leadership when Democrats took the majority in 2007, 
to help shepherd landmark legislation through the Congress.
  Those who knew her well, and you have heard from many of them 
tonight, remember her tenacity, her creativity, and her patriotism. 
Since her passing, we have heard from former colleagues and friends 
about the extraordinary impact that Ellen made on their lives and on 
them.
  They say the measure of a person's life is the impact they have on 
others. From this measurement alone, it is very clear that Ellen lived 
a life of purpose. We are so thankful for the time that she spent here, 
for the time she spent blazing a trail for the New Democrat Coalition.
  We are absolutely keeping Ellen's daughter, Katherine, and the entire 
Tauscher family in our thoughts and prayers this month as we celebrate 
her extraordinary life and her extraordinary legacy.
  Again, I thank our colleague from California for organizing this 
Special Order in honor of Ellen's life.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I think so many of us in the House could 
think of the different things we did with Ellen. As I was listening, I 
was remembering her capacity to reach agreement. She was a legislator, 
and whether it was reaching across the aisle or disagreements even 
within the Democratic Party, she was always trying to come up with a 
solution that would make the country better.
  I remember a disagreement we had. We were good friends, but we had a 
disagreement on a legislative issue. There was a disagreement in the 
Democratic Party, and we had a big meeting. Rather than let people 
fight, we stood in front of the group and we actually drafted the 
compromise that would move us forward in the course of about 20 
minutes. It was an extraordinary experience for both of us and 
especially for the new Members who had never seen legislators actually 
legislating themselves.
  I know that there are people throughout the House who have such 
memories, and I hope that they will be able to put them into the 
Record, keeping Katherine and the entire Tauscher family in their 
prayers.


                             General Leave

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________