PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE MARTIN M. "MARTY" LOONEY ON HIS RETIREMENT

On 2026-06-03, Representative Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT-3) delivered a floor speech titled "PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE MARTIN M. "MARTY" LOONEY ON HIS RETIREMENT" in the House.

PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE MARTIN M. "MARTY" LOONEY ON HIS RETIREMENT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 94 (Wednesday, June 3, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 94 (Wednesday, June 3, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E518-E519] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE MARTIN M. ``MARTY'' LOONEY ON HIS RETIREMENT ______ HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO of connecticut in the house of representatives Wednesday, June 3, 2026 Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to The Honorable Martin M. ``Marty'' Looney on the occasion of his retirement. As the Connecticut state legislative session closed earlier this month, so too did the legislative career of a remarkable public servant and someone I am honored to call my friend, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney. Over the course of his forty-six years in Connecticut's General Assembly, six terms in the House and seventeen terms in the Senate, he has left his mark on our state government, our communities, and the people of Connecticut. For nearly fifty years, Marty has been a close friend, a confidant, and co-conspirator--and it all started in 1975, when we began our journey together in government and local politics. I happened to knock on his mother's door in Fair Haven, along with Frank Logue who was running for Mayor of New Haven. She told us that it was her son, Martin, that we should talk to. She brought Marty out and we asked him if he was interested in helping to get Frank elected. Marty said yes, he would help--and Connecticut has never been the same. Five years later, I had the privilege of helping to elect Marty to the General Assembly. I have celebrated this decision every day since. My parents both served in elected office, and I learned from them that government should work for people. I took that vision with me when I ran for Congress, and Marty Looney embodied it every day of his forty-six years in the state legislature. Throughout his tenure as the longest-serving Senate President Pro Tempore and Senate Majority Leader [[Page E519]] in our state's history, Marty has been the conscience of the Connecticut legislature. He fought for workers, for families struggling to make ends meet, for those who have no lobbyist and no seat at the table. He championed a higher minimum wage, expanded access to healthcare, and stood firm against every effort that would have made life harder for the people of Connecticut. What makes Marty extraordinary was not what he passed, but how he governed--with quiet patience, principle, and an unshakeable belief that government, done right, can lift people up. Some would say he would rather take the slice than hold out for the whole loaf. That wisdom is how he changed people's lives. He worked to make things better, one day and one bill at a time, while never losing sight of the bigger goals. Marty is one of the finest public servants I have ever had the honor to call a colleague, and one of the dearest friends of my life, Connecticut--is better measurably and materially better--because of him. A graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law and partner in the law firm of Keyes and Looney, Marty has also enjoyed a successful career as an attorney. A mentor, advocate and educator, he is also a practitioner in residence with the Criminal Justice Program in the Department of Public Safety at the University of New Haven as well as an adjunct faculty member in the Political Science Department at Quinnipiac University and the Quinnipiac University Law School. Marty has left an indelible mark on state politics, the halls of Connecticut's Capitol, and in the lives of so many where he has made a difference. His leadership and political savvy will be missed, but he has inspired a new generation of leaders who will follow his example. Today, as he marks his retirement from public service, I am honored to join family, friends, and colleagues in paying tribute to Martin M. Looney and his extraordinary career. I wish Marty, his wife, Ellen; their son, Michael; as well as their three grandchildren, Matthew, Anna Katherine, and Isabel Grace, all the best for many more years of health and happiness. ____________________