Celebrating the accomplishments of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, also known as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, and recognizing the need to continue pursuing the goal of educational opportunities for women and girls.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 406) celebrating the accomplishments of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, also known as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, and recognizing the need to continue pursuing the goal of educational opportunities for women and girls.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of the resolution.

Thirty-five years ago, a college applicant could be denied admission simply because she was a woman. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 changed that. Led by the late Representative Patsy T. Mink, who had been denied admission to a medical school because of her sex, and Representative Edith Green, Congress established a principle we often take for granted today, the prohibition of sex discrimination in any federally funded educational program.

Title IX requires that ``No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal assistance.''

These 35 words over the last 35 years have had a profound impact, and the results are astounding. More women than ever now attend college, which means more women than ever go on to advanced degrees. In 1972 only 9 percent of law degrees were earned by women. In the mid-1970s, when I attended law school, that number had improved. Women then had made up 15 percent of the graduating class. Today women earn almost half of all law degrees. The story is similar for medical degrees and Ph.D.s.

This new generation of highly educated women has made a substantial impact on society. Expectations have changed. Girls expect to grow up and contribute to our country and the world in any way they want, as doctors, lawyers, CEOs, school principals, consultants, just to name a few careers previously underrepresented by women.

Title IX also literally changed the face of athletic programs and colleges throughout the country. In fact, it is through athletics that title IX's impact has seeped into the public's consciousness. In athletics the change from 1972 to 2007 is astounding. Today, college athletic opportunities abound for young women. In the past three decades, title IX has led to a 450 percent increase in the rate of female participation in college sports and a more than 900 percent increase in participation at the high school level. And the recent surge in women's professional sports teams could not have happened without the dramatic increase in women playing college sports.

The thousands of women athletes in basketball, volleyball, soccer, and other sports, where we can see them, root for them, and even play on the team with them, have had a huge impact. Young girls today take it for granted that they can play a sport and aspire to athletic scholarships to college. My own niece started playing volleyball in junior high, continued in high school, and is aiming for a volleyball scholarship to attend college. Women in my generation did not even consider this a possibility. Title IX opened the door to higher education for women in many ways, including through athletic scholarships.

These successes, both academic and athletic, are worth celebrating, as are the women who came before us here on the House floor as leaders of the title IX movement. In 2002, after Representative Patsy T. Mink passed away, Chairman George Miller introduced a bill that named title IX the ``Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.''

This picture of Patsy hangs in my office. She was my friend and continues to be an inspiration to me. I am proud to represent the congressional district that Patsy represented for so long and so well. I know that if she were here today, she would remind us that our work is not done.

There are many challenges still to be addressed. Women continue to face substantial barriers, especially in high-wage fields such as science, technology, engineering, and math. Women own less than 30 percent of all U.S. firms. Women make up only a third of chief executive officers and less than 20 percent of engineers. Sexual harassment remains pervasive in schools and on college campuses. Women's and girls' sports teams still receive only 33 percent of recruiting dollars and 38 percent of athletic operating dollars.

Title IX is as necessary today as it was in 1972.

I am pleased that over 120 of my colleagues are cosponsors on this resolution, including Speaker Pelosi. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in celebrating title IX's successes and in recognizing the work still to be done in our march towards equal educational opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Utah for his remarks in support of the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Mr. Speaker, before I yield back the balance of my time, I would just like to clarify that I am the original sponsor of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 406 and the far reaching achievements of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, also known as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. There is no question that women in this country have come a long way in the past 35 years, and there is little doubt that much of that progress is a result of title IX.

Prior to the passage of title IX, it was commonplace for colleges and universities to refuse admission to women simply on the basis of their gender. Of the handful of female college professors, most taught at all-female colleges, received salaries lower than their male counterparts, and very few were ever awarded tenure. Back then, schools could deny women training in fields deemed ``inappropriate'' such as woodworking or automotive repair, and girls ere discouraged from studying math and science. Only 1 in 27 girls played high school sports, and female college athletes received only 2 percent of overall athletic budgets.

This landmark legislation, passed in 1972, prohibits gender-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities. Its effects have been felt far beyond the classroom and athletic field.

Today, women earn undergraduate and graduate degrees at much higher rates, even comprising a majority of undergraduate and graduate school enrollment. Women can no longer be denied access to the vocational courses of their choice, and girls now take upper-level math and science classes at the same rate as boys. Additionally, female participation in intercollegiate athletics has increased by 400 percent over the past 30 years. In high school athletics, female participation has increased by 800 percent.

Title IX's passage has allowed girls and women to see no boundaries to their potential. Today, they can look around and see female doctors, lawyers, astronauts, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, Nobel laureates and NASCAR drivers. They even have a female Speaker of this House to serve as their role model. Title IX has led to the advancement of women in countless areas of our society. However, the work of title IX is not yet complete.

Still today, women, on average, earn only 75 cents for every $1 a man earns. Even more, women continue to lag behind men in earning doctoral and professional degrees. In academia, women earn less, hold lower ranking positions and are less likely to be awarded tenure than men. Despite comprising over 50 percent of the student population, women make up only 42 percent of high school and college varsity athletes, and male athletes receive $137 million more than female athletes in college athletic scholarships. That does not even take into account the barriers that title IX does not address. Negative stereotypes, subtle discrimination, and workplace practices that indirectly adversely affect women are still pervasive in our society.

Mr. Speaker, even in this great body, which is supposed to be representative of the American people, only 17 percent of our Members are female. Therefore, while we celebrate title IX's accomplishments over the last 35 years, it is necessary to remember that the struggle for gender equity continues.

I proudly commend Congresswoman Hirono for introducing this resolution which celebrates the far reaching accomplishments of title IX. I look forward to the day that all Americans are able to achieve their promise regardless of their gender.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my freshman colleague from Hawaii for bringing this particular resolution. It is appropriate that she honors her predecessor, Congresswoman Mink, who did so much in this Hall. In passing this bill, she did some of the things that were similar to civil rights laws of the 1960s in a continuum, because discrimination, whether it be race or gender or national origin or sexual orientation, is wrong.

There are barriers this country needs to tear down and present a level playing field and an opportunity for all to enjoy the benefits of America. It is what Dr. King did talk about when he looked forward to getting to the Promised Land. That's part of what the Promised Land was, is, and will be. And so I thank the gentlelady for bringing the resolution.

I am going to take an opportunity here to make a mea culpa. Earlier, when I had to address the House on Stax Records, I forgot a few people. And one of the people I forgot was a women, Carla Thomas, who did ``Gee Whiz,'' and her father, Rufus Thomas, who did ``Walking the Dog.'' In music, many of the Stax Record people were men, they were the Staple Singers, but Carla Thomas was a great singer. And there are so many fields that have been opened up.

When I looked at the statistics that were made available to me, before title IX only 9 percent of the graduates from medical school were women. In 2004, there were 46 percent. In law, 7 percent had J.D. degrees for women, now 49 percent. When you think about those numbers, and that was just 35 years ago, Mr. Speaker, it's amazing how far we've come from the discrimination that existed at that time because of gender and what Representative Mink and the United States Congress' work did. It shows what can be positive and good about government.

There is a lot of good things that government can do and does do, and people forget that. If it weren't for civil rights pioneers, there would still be segregation. If it weren't for the work of the Congress in the middle 1960s, there would still be discrimination possibly in housing and public employment and other public facilities. And if it weren't for Congresswoman Mink, there would be discrimination against women. There is much good that comes. Forces within society help, but they propel people in government to act and take action that this Congress has seen has made America a greater place.

So it is my honor to stand and support the passage of this resolution that celebrates the 35th anniversary of title IX. It tells us just how far we've come in 35 years, but how just 35 years ago there were these limits. And the fact is, it was only 87 years ago that women got the right to vote. Mr. Speaker, 87 years ago women could not vote in this country, but this Congress, through a passage of a constitutional amendment, passed eventually by Tennessee as the perfect 36th State, gave women the right to vote in this country. So we've come a long way, but we've got a long way to go. And it is an honor to participate in this 35th anniversary.

I thank the gentlelady for giving me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 406, in celebration of the accomplishments of title IX, the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. I would like to thank my friend and colleague from Hawaii, Ms. Mazie Hirono, for bringing this to the House floor this week as we commemorate the 35th anniversary of this landmark legislation.

Title IX has forever changed the landscape of opportunity for women and girls. Since the enactment of title IX, the number of women participating in intercollegiate athletics has increased fivefold. The number of female high school athletes has grown by almost 900 percent. In 1972, just as title

IX was enacted, women earned merely 28 percent of the bachelor's degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, better known as the STEM fields.

Today, women earn 49 percent of the bachelor's degrees in these fields.

On a personal point of privilege, I am proud to say that my four daughters, who are considering STEM fields as their professional careers, are proud to see that we remember Patsy Mink.

Despite these successes, we still have work to do to achieve the promises of full equality and freedom from discrimination that is at the heart of title IX. There are still gaps in support for women's athletics, gaps in participation in various disciplines in the STEM fields, and disparities in career and technical education programs. More critically, there is still much to be done to ensure that our educational institutions are free from sexual harassment.

It was a privilege to have served on the Education Committee with Congresswoman Patsy Mink of Hawaii, the original author of title IX. I joined her on the Committee of Education and also on the House floor to defend title IX and its reauthorization, and I am pleased to say we won.

It is up to us to honor her legacy and maintain the integrity of title IX, which simply 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.''

As the father of four daughters, I reaffirm my commitment to title IX and the legacy of Patsy Mink today with this vote. I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution, H. Res. 406.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Resolution 406 is a resolution honoring the 35th anniversary of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. I would like to recognize my colleague Ms. Hirono for introducing this resolution. The Education and Labor Committee will continue to celebrate the 35th anniversary of this law with a hearing tomorrow on this subject before the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness.

President Nixon signed title IX into law on June 23, 1972. The purpose of title IX was to eliminate discrimination based on gender in the education arena. While title IX applies to all areas of education, it is possibly best known for its role in sports. Thanks to this law, and perhaps more significantly from the growing interest in sports in this country, we have seen a dramatic increase in female athletes.

This law is far from perfect. Institutions continue to struggle with how to comply with title IX, trying to balance the participation rates of men with those of women. We do not want institutions to build up female participation at the expense of men's teams at the schools.

As I stated earlier, title IX is best known for its effect on sports. However, title IX does apply to all areas of education. In a time when we are continually talking about the need to educate America's students in the area of math and science, it is important that we also recognize the increasing numbers of female students pursuing careers in math and science. In 2004 the General Accounting Office issued a report on the participation of women in science. The report found that women's participation in the sciences increased substantially over the past 30 years. However, there is always more that can be done. As Congress looks to reform current programs, we should ensure that the programs being reformed are to encourage all students to enter into the sciences, math, and especially history.

The committee has no stated opposition to this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity of sharing this time with the gentlelady from Hawaii on this particular bill that was sponsored by the gentlelady from California (Ms. Matsui).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.