Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1021, expressing support for the goals, ideals, and history of National Women's History Month. I would like to thank my friend and colleague,…
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1021, expressing support for the goals, ideals, and history of National Women's History Month. I would like to thank my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Woolsey, for introducing this legislation, which I am proud to cosponsor. Let me also thank the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Chairman Waxman, for bringing this resolution before us today.
The purpose of National Women's History Month is to increase awareness and knowledge of women's involvement in history. I strongly believe that it is vital to honor the originality, beauty, imagination, and multiple dimensions of women's lives. As recently as the 1970s, women's history was rarely taught in schools, and was not part of public awareness. To address this situation, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County, California, Commission on the Status of Women initiated a ``Women's History Week'' celebration for 1978. In 1981, in response to the growing popularity of women's history celebrations, Congress passed a resolution making Women's History Week a national observance. Within a few years, thousands of schools and communities across the country were celebrating National Women's History Week.
The popularity of women's history celebrations has sparked a new interest in uncovering women's forgotten heritage. Under the guidance of the National Women's History Project, educators, workplace program planners, parents and community organizations in thousands of American communities have turned National Women's History Month into a major celebration and a springboard for celebrating women's history all year round.
Mr. Speaker, in the early days of our great Nation, women were relegated to second class status. Women were considered sub-sets of their husbands, and after marriage they did not have the right to own property, maintain their wages, or sign a contract, much less vote. It was expected that women be obedient wives, never to hold a thought or opinion independent of their husbands. It was considered improper for women to travel alone or to speak in public.
The fight for women's suffrage was formally begun in 1848, and, in 1919, after years of petitioning, picketing, and protest parades, the 19th amendment was passed by both Houses of Congress; it was ratified the following year.
However, the right to vote did not give women equal rights, and subsequent decades saw an ongoing struggle for equality. A major success came with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. This law, enacted in June 1972, states ``No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.''
Title XI, introduced by Congresswoman Patsy Mink, also notable as the first Asian American woman elected to Congress, has opened countless doors to educational activities, perhaps most prominently including high
school and collegiate athletics, to women. Congresswoman Mink's legacy lives on as, each year, hundreds of women across the Nation participate in NCAA athletics, learn teamwork and perseverance, earn scholarships enabling them to study at college, and enjoy equal footing with men in the academic arena.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to pay tribute to the women, local heroes, of my district. Women like Ramona Tolliver, long time Fifth Ward resident, former precinct chair, founding board member of Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, member of Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, and member of the Metropolitan Organization, who is still actively advocating for her community. Women like Nellie Joyce Punch, long time Fifth Ward resident, retired educator at Phyllis Wheatley High School, former precinct chair, founding board member of Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, member of the Methodist Church, also actively working on behalf of her community. Both Ms. Tolliver and Ms. Punch are active in Houston's Fifth Ward, where they act as the conscience for the community, calling for change and actively working to better our city.
Women like Dr. Charlesetta Deason, principal of Houston's DeBakey High School for Health Professions. Dr. Deason helms a school that offers students interested in science and health careers an alternative to the traditional high school experience, located in the renowned Texas Medical Center and boasting an ethnically diverse faculty and an excellent introductory study of medicine.
Or women like Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, the first Hispanic and first woman to be elected in her own right to the office. Commissioner Garcia is active in the Houston community, and she has served on more than 25 community boards and commissions, including the San Jacinto Girl Scouts, the Houston Hispanic Forum, the American Leadership Forum, the Texas Southern University Foundation, and the Institute of Hispanic Culture.
As a Nation, we have come a long way toward recognizing the important role women play, not only in our local communities, but in our Nation as a whole. Since 1917, when Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman to serve in Congress, 243 more women have served as U.S. Representatives or Senators. In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to Congress; I am now proud to be one of 13 African American women serving in this body.
In addition, we are now, for the first time, under the leadership of a woman Speaker of the House. Speaker Pelosi has led this Democratic Congress in a new direction, listening to the will of the American people, as it was clearly expressed last November.
Mr. Speaker, the great tragedy of women's history is that, many times, the history of women is not written down. Too often, throughout the course of history, the contributions of women have gone unrecorded, unheralded, and are now forgotten. And so, Mr. Speaker, during Women's History Month, we do not stand here only to remember the Eleanor Roosevelts, Harriet Tubmans, and Rosa Parks, women who are now celebrated in our schools and history books, but also the millions of female unsung heroes who built this Nation, and who made it truly great.
I would like to pay special tribute to women, mothers, and grandmothers across the country. In particular, I would like to draw attention to the growing phenomenon of grandparents raising children. As of 1996, 4 million children were being raised by their grandparents, and statistics published the following year indicated that more than one-tenth of all grandparents provided the primary care for their grandchildren for at least 6 months and typically much longer. These numbers continue to grow, and these grandparents, generally ineligible for financial or social support, often suffer greatly to provide a safe and loving home for these children.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, we pay tribute to the brave women who serve proudly in our Nation's military. We have come a long way since the first American woman soldier, Deborah Sampson of Massachusetts, who enlisted as a Continental Army soldier under the name of ``Robert Shurtlief.'' Women served with distinction in World War II: 350,000 American women served during World War II, and 16 were killed in action. In total, they gained over 1,500 medals, citations, and commendations. In December 1989, CPT Linda L. Bray, 29, became the first woman to command American soldiers in battle, during the invasion of Panama.
The war in Iraq marks the first time in American history that a substantial number of the combat wounded are women. 350,000 women are serving in the U.S. military--almost 15 percent of active duty personnel, and one in every seven troops in Iraq is a woman. Women play a role in nearly all types of military operation, and they have time and time again demonstrated extreme bravery, courage, and patriotism.
I would particularly like to honor one of our heroic daughters: Army SPC Monica L. Brown. Brown is the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the Nation's third-highest medal for valor. Army SPC Monica Brown was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one of the Humvees. After the explosion, in which five soldiers in her unit were wounded, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away. Army Specialist Brown, a native Texan, represents the best of our Nation's fighting men and women, and she clearly demonstrates that the admirable qualities of patriotism, valor, and courage know no gender.
Mr. Speaker, Women's History Month is an opportunity for all Americans to reflect on the women who have built, strengthened, and maintained this great Nation. Women who have often gone unrecognized and unheralded for their great achievements, sacrifices, and contributions. I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to the women in their communities, in their families, and in their lives.
I, along with the residents of the 18th Congressional District of Texas, recognize the unique contributions of women throughout the course of American history. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.
