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Congressional Daily Record
This section is a tribute, commemoration, or district-facing statement. It mentions members such as Joseph Morelle. Extensions of Remarks are statements submitted for the official record, even if they were not spoken live on the floor.
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July 21, 2026
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Extensions of Remarks
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Download official Extensions PDFReturn to issue contextHON. JOSEPH D. MORELLE
of new york
in the house of representatives
Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and service of Ellen Marie Ike—more commonly known on Capitol Hill as Ms. Ellen—a Lead Teacher at the House of Representatives Child Care Center, who tragically passed away on June 13, 2026, at the age of 61.
For nearly a decade, Ms. Ellen cared for children from across the Capitol Hill community. Members and staff left their sons and daughters with her in the morning and went to work on the people's business, secure in the knowledge that their children were safe and loved. She returned that trust every day and was recognized repeatedly for the excellence of her service.
A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Ms. Ellen earned a scholarship to Livingstone College in North Carolina, where she sang in the Concert Choir and joined the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Her career began in retail, but her years teaching Sunday school made clear that early childhood education was her calling. After operating her own home-based daycare and teaching at other schools across the Washington metropolitan area, she joined the House Child Care Center in 2018, where she remained until her death.
matters most. Ms. Ellen spent the last nine years of her life doing that work in the shadow of the Capitol, for the families of the people who serve here—much of it through a serious illness she rarely let her classroom see. Hundreds of children learned their letters, self-worth, and what it means to be a friend from a teacher who gave them her best while fighting for her own health.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Ellen Marie Ike, and in extending our condolences to her family and to her colleagues at the House Child Care Center, who carry on her work.