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For Immediate Release |
Contact: William Marshall, Jr. |
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed the “Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway” bill by unanimous consent. The bill, which Congresswoman Richardson introduced in the House of Representatives, names a portion of California Highway Route 91, the “Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway." “Congresswoman Millender-McDonald was a political mentor, for many years, my former boss, and my predecessor in the U.S. Congress,” said Congresswoman Richardson. “She became the first African-American woman to chair a full House Committee. As Chair of the House Administration Committee, the Congresswoman culminated a long line of “first”: She was the first African-American woman to give the national Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address and she initiated the first annual Memorial Day Tribute to Women in the Military at the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.” As noted by Republican colleagues Rep. Vernon Ehlers of Michigan and Rep. John Duncan of Tennessee, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald was known for her bipartisan spirit and for her fiscal conservative principles; many of which Congresswoman Richardson has instituted in her legislative service today. “The naming of this portion of California Highway Route 91 as the ‘Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway’", Congresswoman Richardson pointed out, “is only fitting for a public servant who was instrumental in the implementation and funding of the Alameda Corridor (a $2.5 billion dollar project that opened in April 2002, and is a vital connection between the ports and America’s rail system) and a leader in the promotion of interstate commerce. Further, I recommended this particular section of Highway 91 because this freeway was a part of Congresswoman Millender-McDonald's district during her entire legislative career in the California Assembly through Congress and runs adjacent to the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy, a facility she founded for our youth.. It was an honor for me to learn from Congresswoman McDonald and this highway naming will remind others of her commitment for years to come.” The measure, HR 4131, passed the House by voice vote on Sunday, September 28, 2008. The bill will be sent to the President for signature. ### |
