Donna Shalala: “I thank the California delegation for giving me this opportunity. I met Ellen Tauscher in the 1980s when I was the…”

“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.”