Moment of Silence Honoring Representative Kay Granger

The House held a moment of silence honoring former Representative Kay Granger, who died on August 2. Members described her as a groundbreaking figure, noting she was the first woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee and a legend in Fort Worth, Texas, and the nation. Representative Goldman recalled her funeral and her son’s tribute to her life, and Representative Veasey, though from the other party, praised her work as a teacher, businesswoman, and congresswoman and said they worked well together. Members said she would be missed.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

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2 statements

Craig A. Goldman, TX

Republican
“I am honoring former Representative Kay Granger, who died on August 2. She was the first woman to lead the House Appropriations Committee and broke many other barriers for women in government.”
  • Speech in the House

    Signal 30 of 100

    Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, on August 2 we lost Kay Granger. All of you knew her. She was a legend in this Chamber. She was a legend in Fort Worth, Texas. She was a legend in Texas. She was a legend in America. At her funeral a week ago Saturday, her son spoke so eloquently about her. He didn’t talk about her accomplishments here. He talked about her being just an ordinary mom, just an ordinary person who happened to do extraordinary things. She was the first Republican woman mayor of the city of Fort Worth. She was the first Republican woman ever to be elected to Congress from Texas. As many of you know and so many of her fellow appropriators who are up here know, she was the first woman to be chair of the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations and then the first woman ever in the U.S. Congress to be chair of the Appropriations Committee. She broke down barriers everywhere she went. When people said, ``You can’t do that,’’ she said, ``Tell me why. I am going to anyway,’’ as all of you know, especially when she rose to be the Appropriations Committee chair. She didn’t get there because it was easy. She got there because it was tough, and she always took the tough route. She was an extraordinary woman. Fort Worth has lost a legend. We will never forget her, and we will remember her forever just as every single one of you who served with her will as well. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey), my Democratic colleague.

Marc A. Veasey, TX

Democrat
“I am honoring Kay Granger. She did great work for Fort Worth as a teacher, a businesswoman, and a congresswoman. Even though we were from different parties, we worked well together. She will be missed.”
Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Goldman for yielding me time. The ceremony for Kay was absolutely beautiful. I have to let everyone know that. I want to reiterate what Craig just talked about. Her son J.D. gave such an amazing testimony about her life. I want everyone here to know that Kay was a Congresswoman here, and she did remarkable things during her tenure representing Fort Worth. Fort Worth is a better place because of Kay’s service in the U.S. House. But so many people had long-term relationships with Kay Granger. She was a teacher in the Birdville ISD, and people knew her from that. So many people have stories about her time teaching them, people that are still with us today. She was a businesswoman. Kay had a group of diverse friends that she dined with, that she vacationed with, that she did things with. She was someone who was, as I say, a woman before her time really, and she touched so many different people’s lives. When I would go home, people would always ask me: Marc, how do you and Kay get along? I see Democrats and Republicans are always at each other. I would tell people: Kay still is like our mayor. She is still just like the mayor of Fort Worth. We worked great together on things. Fort Worth will miss her. She was an amazing person to work with, and she always put Fort Worth first when she was here. As the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Goldman) just said, Kay is going to be sorely missed. She was an incredible and remarkable person.

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