James Oberstar: “it was shortly after the election in which Juanita Millender-McDonald was elected to the Congress, she called on my…”

“it was shortly after the election in which Juanita Millender-McDonald was elected to the Congress, she called on my office. I was the ranking member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She came to see me about service on our committee. I had learned a little about her background, and I was surprised. I thought she would be more interested in Judiciary or International Relations, but when I asked why she wanted to serve on this nuts and bolts committee, she said, well, I have the Alameda Corridor in my district. And if I heard Alameda Corridor from her once, I heard it 50 times. It was incessant, it was a refrain, it was a passionate advocacy. I, of course, did support her candidacy for the committee. Then, when the assignments were given out, she came calling again, said, I want to know more about what this committee does. What are all these responsibilities? What does this subcommittee's work mean on public buildings and grounds and economic development? When I laid out the picture that this committee has jurisdiction over 367 million square feet of Federal civilian office space, she was excited. Well, there are things we can do here. It was just such an enlightenment and so exciting to see a new Member enthused about the work of the committee and wanting to understand it and grasp and understand it.”