Jackie Speier: “Thank you, and I thank my dear friend, Paul Tonko, who loved Louise like no one else in this Chamber, for arranging this…”

“Thank you, and I thank my dear friend, Paul Tonko, who loved Louise like no one else in this Chamber, for arranging this for us tonight. Tom Jones had a song, ``She's a Lady.'' Louise Slaughter was that lady, except none of the other lyrics of that song were appropriate for Louise. She was a lady who was tough as nails, with a steel backbone and a sharp and very funny tongue. There are many people I like in our Chamber, few I truly love. I loved Louise Slaughter. Members come and go and hardly leave a footprint around here, even Members who have served long periods of time. That is not true about Louise. I still did it today. I walk onto this floor seeking her out. I look at C-SPAN and expect to see her presenting another cogent argument on the inane closed rule offered by the other side. There is a void in this Chamber with her passing, but her footprints are everywhere. Louise distinguished herself in so many issues and in so many ways: the first woman, as we have said over and over again, to represent western New York; the first woman to chair the Rules Committee. Now, as an 88-year-old woman, she was chairing this committee into the wee hours of the morning, day after day, and never lost a beat. She is one of the longest serving Members. She is the only microbiologist. She was responsible for creating the first $500 million set-aside for breast cancer research.…”