Women's History Month

Floor Speech

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Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Speier. I will tell you what, it is really hard to follow those remarks. I think all of us--all Americans--really all people around the world who have been following the brutality of Putin's war, our hearts are breaking. I thank the gentlewoman for highlighting the special plight of the women.

As I said, it is almost hard to talk about anything after that, but I do want to say this. For about 200 years women have been fighting for rights, for rights that White men and then eventually Black men had, but we are still fighting for them.

I was just thinking back to my own childhood--and probably your childhood, too. They had limits on how many girls could get into law school or medical school; there were no sport scholarships available. If you were a married woman, you could only get credit in your husband's name. Abortion was illegal. Equal pay was not even a concept. We did finally get the right to vote after women were arrested and chained themselves to the White House.

So if you look back in history, we have been fighting very hard to get our rights. I want to thank Representative Jackson Lee, she has highlighted some of the victories over the years and some of the women who led the way, whether it was with Title IX or Roe v. Wade, or the bill that was just celebrated today by the President, the Equal Pay Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act. A lot has been done, but, wait, they are all in jeopardy.

It is just shocking that after all these years of fighting, every one of these rights are in jeopardy, including the right to vote, which is why--and I know my colleagues here would agree--we must have an equal rights amendment. We must have inscribed in the U.S. Constitution equality for men and women that cannot be changed at the whim of a political body.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, allow me to again express my appreciation to the growth and bounty of the Women's Democratic Caucus. It is amazing, the coming together of now generational women, freshmen classes, sophomore classes, and some of us who have had the privilege of serving for a period of time. What an amazing power base that you and we have created.

Madam Speaker, I thank Lois Frankel for her leadership. I thank Brenda Lawrence and Jackie Speier for the way they have guarded and guided this privilege with this power. I do think it is important to put in the Record her singular work. She will not say singular work, but we were all glad to join her.

Obviously, this particular young soldier came out of the breadth and depth of Houston and out of Texas--but to be able to honor the life of a young woman that simply wanted all her life to join the United States Army. Jackie Speier had been working on the issue of sexual assault in the military, along with our good friend, Senator Gillibrand, and the lack of justice that we were seeing all the time. This had been going on for a very long time.

It is important in this Women's History Month to say that we together made history with your legislation that responded to the heinous crime of the killing of Officer Guillen, a precious young women, who, growing up as a little girl wanted to be in the United States military.

I think this is the point that should be made. Only in this recent time can young girls want to grow up to be generals, astronauts, presidents, scientists, and others. As Ms. Frankel and Ms. Speier indicated, the abuse that was laid upon women for even thinking about equality or justice or voting. And then, of course, I must say that African American women found themselves at the lowest wrung of the ladder and suffered the continuing lingering history of slavery, the rape that was put upon them, the tending to whatever child was born, and then, of course, tending to the fields.

Here we are today with a little bright light--and I am going to say little bright light because Ms. Frankel laid out all the things we need to do: the ERA, and we hope to get this new Justice.

I wanted to take a moment just to respond and build upon this vile war criminal who seems to have Ukraine--God bless the soldiers, the men, the men that stayed behind to fight, but the toll has been so brutal on the women of Ukraine.

Even in the last 24 hours, women are leaving safe places in Poland and Romania and they are coming back to Ukraine demanding that they fight, that they stand with the people of Ukraine for the democracy that they love. The death toll is brutal. The way they are dying is brutal. To be running with your child thinking you are protecting them. And to have the greatest moment of your life, the birth of a new baby, and you die and the baby dies, and your whole innards are crushed.

Besides the women that are left behind in pools of blood--then the women who are escaping with their children who have nothing. This has been found around the world in Sudan when we were fighting against genocide. The victims were women who were trying to hold on to families in Rwanda. Places in South and Central America; the missing Mexican women that we have been working on for years.

My previous Member from California had led us in this fight, and we are still fighting. In the United States missing girls and human trafficking is a scourge today, and the dominant population of human trafficking are girls and girls who were tending to their daily duties of going to high school and, all of a sudden, they walked away, and they are in human trafficking, or they are being trafficked.

So we have a lot to fight. We have a lot to put on the Record today and this month. We have got a lot of grandmothers to thank, a lot of moms to thank, and a lot of firsts to thank. We have got a lot of poets who have described our lives and a lot of writers who have described our lives. We have got a lot of children who simply say thank you.

I guess I don't want to leave the podium.

I must thank the teachers because if ever people were elevated to know how much you appreciate women, this 2-year, 3-year period of the pandemic really laid it out. You were either sacrificing as a mother because you were wearing 25 hats, Madam Speaker, and a lot of them dealing with homeschooling and trying to make do. You were a nurse; you were a teacher. You were simply in the fight.

Madam Speaker, you were a doctor, you were a hospital administrator, you were an EMS, you were a fire person, a police person, and you were in here dealing with just the pit of COVID-19 and what it was doing to our families. You could have been in the funeral home business as a woman, and you were dealing with these circumstances.

So let me just give a big thank you in this month, and I hope that if I have not called your name, I am giving a big, overall thank you to all of you women. We recognize all of our gentlemen. But today, all of you have stood in the gap during a time in America's history that no one ever expected.

So I say thank you to Congresswoman Frankel, to Congresswoman Speier, and to all the women. We count them as being on the floor today to be able to honor Women's History Month and then, of course, International Women's History Month to be able to say thank you to all of them.

I must say thank you to the Pakistani women. I was at the Pakistani Embassy last night. I don't want to leave the floor without saying I met a lot of Pakistani Americans who were there celebrating Women's History Month and to honor Pakistani-American women.

First, I would like to thank the Democratic Women's Caucus for hosting this Special Order to celebrate Women's History Month.

During Women's History Month, we celebrate the generations of trailblazing women who, in the face of daily hardship and systemic discrimination, have paved a path toward gender justice.

It also serves as a global call to action, calling on us to advance the rights and dignities of women at home, at work and in all aspects of life.

Women have always led the effort to create a more fair, more resilient, more prosperous, and more equal America.

It brings me great pride that in 2022, women are not only working tirelessly to meet the needs of this unique moment, women are taking the lead.

With Vice President Kamala Harris making history for our nation, with more women than ever before serving in Congress and taking on leadership roles in the President's cabinet, with the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, with women leading some of America's largest and most innovative businesses, and with women continuing to break ground as scientists and researchers, America is stronger because of women.

I am proud that House Democrats are leading efforts to expand on opportunities for women and to combat gender discrimination.

In addition to our work to close the gender wage gap by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, a major part of that effort includes addressing the challenges posed to American women by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is important to recognize that the burden of caring for children, the elderly, and the sick still falls to women unevenly in our society, and the pandemic forced many women to sacrifice their careers to care for loved ones.

Last year, Democrats and President Biden enacted the American Rescue Plan, which extended the expanded Child Tax Credit to help families make ends meet and help women stay in the workforce and return to their jobs.

It is now year 3 of the Coronavirus pandemic, which means that women have been leading the COVID-19 response, combatting the virus in America and around the world.

During Women's History Month, we honor the female frontline health care workers.

From health care to home care, restaurants to grocery stores, women workers, low-paid workers, and women of color are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, nearly 80% of healthcare workers and 83% of workers who provide social assistance, including child care and emergency services, are women.

Additionally, women-dominated occupations, such as nurses, flight attendants, and personal care aides, are among the most vulnerable to getting sick and spreading it to others.

Women are also in the position to suffer the most in an economic recession.

Women are the most economically vulnerable, comprising nearly 60% of workers in low-wage occupations.

Low-paid women workers have very little in the way of savings, which means it is much harder for them to weather economic shocks, especially when they are likely to be supporting a number of dependents.

Just this week, my bill, VAWA, was reauthorized as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which President Joe Biden signed into law.

We must continue to do more to ensure that law enforcement has all the tools it needs to protect Americans from domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault and that survivors have the resources to heal.

VAWA is life-saving legislation.

This legislation was enacted in response to the prevalence of domestic and sexual violence, and the significant impact of such violence on the lives of women.

Statistics have revealed that these forms of violence impact us all.

In the United States, an estimated 10 million people experience domestic violence every year, and more than 15 million children are exposed to this violence annually.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, about 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner.

About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, and/or partner stalking with injury.

Today, in Texas, 35.10 percent of women and 34.5 percent of men are subjected to domestic violence.

As we celebrate Women's History Month, let us reflect on the women who shaped our history and on those today who are leading our nation forward.

We must work toward a future with equal access to economic opportunities, health care, and safety for all Americans.

It brings me great pride to say that more than 120 women House Members proudly follow in her footsteps--including a record number of committee and subcommittee chairs, myself included.

Driven by these women's devoted service and guided by their leadership, the Democratic House continues to lead the way in building a more just future--whether strengthening the rights of women in the workplace through the Paycheck Fairness Act and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, defending reproductive health freedoms with the Women's Health Protection Act or advancing the Build Back Better Act's historic investments in maternal care, paid family and medical leave, childcare and more.

Last month we celebrated the contributions of African Americans to the history of our great nation, and paid tribute to trailblazers, pioneers, heroes, and leaders like U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan; U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland; Mae C. Jemison; activists, intellectuals, authors, and artists like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Gwendolyn Brooks, to name just a few of the countless number of well-known and unsung heroes whose contributions have helped our nation become a more perfect union.

The history of the United States has been marked by the great contributions of African American activists, leaders, writers, and artists.

As a Member of Congress, I know that I stand on the shoulders of giants whose struggles and triumphs made it possible for me to stand here today and continue the fight for equality, justice, and progress for all, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

Women's History Month is also a time to remember many pioneering women like U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm; activists Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks; astronaut Mae C. Jemison; mathematicians like Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson; authors Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Gwendolyn Brooks; all of whom have each in their own way, whether through courageous activism, cultural or intellectual contributions, or artistic creativity, forged social and political change, and forever changed our great Nation for the better.

Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to Congress, when she was elected to represent the New York's Twelfth Congressional District in 1968 running on the slogan, ``Fighting Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed.''

She reflected that spirit well during her 14 years in Congress.

Before Shirley Chisolm, no black woman had ever served in the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate but following in her footsteps are 51 black women Members of Congress, two black women U.S. Senators, including the president of that body and Vice-President of the United States; 23 Hispanic members; and 15 Asian-Pacific members, along with the first woman Speaker of the House, and mayors of several of the largest cities in the nation, including the District of Columbia, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, New Orleans, Baltimore, Hartford, Minneapolis, San Antonio, and St. Louis.

Shirley Chisolm had an understanding that during those turbulent times the nation required a determined leader to represent the voice of so many Americans who felt dismay at their treatment.

She took an extremely active role in changing the way women were to be judged from that point on.

She remarked that, ``Women in this country must become revolutionaries. We must refuse to accept the old, the traditional roles and stereotypes.''

This is a sentiment that I myself take to heart, women in this nation are now told they have a right to determine the kind of life they want to lead; Shirley Chisholm was at the core of this movement.

This past August 26, 2021, we commemorated the 101st anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which granted women the right to vote.

This momentous achievement did not come easy or without struggle, for as the great abolitionist and orator, Fredrick Douglas stated: ``If there is no struggle, there is no progress . . . . Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.''

The fight for women's suffrage was waged over a 72-year period, beginning in Seneca Falls, New York at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, and exemplifies the prophetic and timeless saying of Margaret Mead that one should:

``Never doubt the ability of handful of committed persons to change the world. It is the only thing that ever has.''

The Seneca Falls Conference was organized by Lucretia Mott, with others including Mary McClintock and Sojourner Truth, who went on to establish herself not only as a great advocate for women's suffrage but also as a great abolitionist.

Among the courageous suffragists who spearheaded the movement were Alice Paul, who fearlessly executed the National Women's Party picketing protests, and conceived the hunger-strike in prison; Carrie Chapman Catt, who devised the ``winning plan'' at the Atlantic City Convention; and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, whose political activism and criticism of the suffrage leadership for excluding black women led to a more inclusive and effective movement.

In 1916, four years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Jeannette Rankin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Montana, the first woman elected to federal office in American history.

A little over a century later, a record number of women serve in the House of Representatives, comprising 23.4% of the chamber's voting members, and presided over by Nancy Pelosi, the first and only woman elected Speaker of the House.

In the 117th Congress, about 37% of women are women of color, and since 1964, more than 70 women of color have been elected to Congress.

Although there remains much work to do to ensure that women enjoy full blessings of liberty and equality, that should not detract from the achievements and contributions to the greatness of our country made by American women, including Sally Kristen Ride, the first woman sent into space; Eileen Marie Collins, the first woman space shuttle pilot; Grace Murray Hopper, an American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral; and Katherine Johnson, one of the unsung heroes of the NASA Space Program, whose mathematical calculations helped the United States win the Space Race.

Nor should we forget that the current Vice-President of the United States is Kamala D. Harris, Vice President Harris is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected as Vice President.

Similarly, we should remember that just five short years ago, Hillary Clinton shattered one glass ceiling when she became the first woman nominated as the presidential candidate of a major political party and came within 80,000 votes of winning the presidency and thus shattering the ultimate glass ceiling.

American women will break this ceiling in the not distant future, drawing inspiration from trailblazers in other nations such as Golda Meir of Israel, Indira Ghandi of India, Ellen Sirleaf of Liberia, Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, Angela Merkel of Germany, and Portia Simpson-Miller of Jamaica, among many others.

In my home city of Houston, there are numerous men and women who are great because they have heeded the counsel of Dr. King who said:

``Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.''

One barrier left to fall, however, is one of the most important, and that is membership on the Supreme Court of the United States.

For most of our national history, presidents and senators have turned a deaf ear to Abigail Adams' plea to her husband ``to remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.''

Since Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's 1981 appointment, only a small handful of women have been nominated to the High Court during this time, despite the fact that women constitute a majority of the general population, 37% of all attorneys in America, a number that will soon exceed the majority since a substantial majority (54%) of all law students in America are women.

With Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement announcement, President Biden and the U.S. Senate, now have been presented and should move quickly to capitalize on this opportunity to begin to rectify the High Court's gender and racial imbalance and to diversify its composition by confirming a member of the most underrepresented, disadvantaged, marginalized, longest suffering, and most patient demographic in America: black women.

Longer than any other racial or ethnic group, black women have been subjected to the coercive powers of the law while being excluded from the opportunities to make the laws citizens are to live under.

President Biden has made a nomination for the ages in selecting U.S. Circuit Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice.

Not only does Judge Jackson possess one of the finest legal minds of her generation, her commitment to equal justice, the rule of law, and Constitution is unsurpassed.

Judge Jackson will be a great Justice and a role model to women and girls everywhere, especially little black girls, that in America all things are possible with hard work and determination.

With this nomination, we are taking a massive step towards having a government whose institutions, including and especially the Supreme Court, are comprised of persons that look like the American people.

I applaud President Biden for making this historic nomination and urge the Senate to conduct a fair, impartial, and expeditious confirmation proceeding and confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson--who has already been confirmed on a bipartisan basis three times.

As we celebrated Black History Month and now Women's History Month, let us pay tribute to those who have come before us, and pay forward to future generations by addressing what is the number one issue for African American families, and all American families today: preserving the American promise of equal opportunity for all.

And it is crucial that as we reflect on how far women have come, we also not lose sight of how far we have to go and what must be done to achieve true gender and racial equality so every girl everywhere can pursue her dreams and realize her potential.

As we progress through Women's History Month, let us summon the extraordinary courage and resilience of the many women who came before us.

Democrats will never relent as we carry on the fight for full equality--not only for our nation's daughters, but for women and girls all over the world.

As the legendary Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm said, ``If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.''

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, and on the Budget, and the Congressional Women's Caucus, I am pleased to join this Women's Caucus Special Order with my colleagues, to discuss the bravery of Ukrainian women and girls in the face of Russia's war against Ukraine.

I thank the Co-Chairs of the CWC, Representatives Dean and Gonzalez- Colon, for their leadership of the Bipartisan Congressional Women's Caucus.

Firstly, I would like to commend all Ukrainians for their outstanding bravery. It is truly inspirational for Americans, and for people around the world. America stands with you.

Russia's launch of a premeditated war against Ukraine is an attack on democracy and a grave violation of international law, global peace, and security.

The fighting has sparked massive displacement and has forced over two million Ukrainians to flee their homes to neighboring states and has put women and girls at heightened risk of violence.

Although many people have fled, millions have stayed behind to help fight the Russian invaders and defend Ukrainian sovereignty.

Thousands of Ukrainian women have taken up arms and are playing a vital role in Ukraine's national defense. Today they make up 22.8% of the Ukrainian army, not including the thousands who have volunteered as civilian soldiers.

Life in the military is not easy for women. While women have been serving in the Ukrainian military since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, they did not win the right to officially fight alongside their male counterparts until 2017.

When Russian-backed forces seized part of the Donbas region and conflict ensued in 2014, thousands of women volunteered to help the Ukrainian military. They served as assault troops, medics, and snipers.

But the sacrifices made by these women went largely unrecognized. Official documents issued by the Ukrainian military, listed these soldiers as seamstresses, cooks, and janitors.

The women who volunteered ``often found themselves outside legal protection,'' according to the Invisible Battalion, an advocacy group for Ukrainian servicewomen, that studied women's roles in the war against Russia.

Although these women have not always been adequately supported by their government because of soviet era laws forbidding them from enlisting, they have persisted.

In 2017 a group of women veterans got together and lobbied for their rights, which brought about a much-needed change in the culture in the Ukrainian military.

Just last year the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense determined that female soldiers marching in a military parade celebrating independence from the Soviet Union would wear high heels, not boots.

Regardless of the numerous hurdles and mockeries Ukrainian women have faced and continue to face today, there are thousands who are putting their lives at risk to protect and defend their homeland.

Among them have been a 79-year-old woman who recently learned how to fire a gun, a former beauty queen Anastasia Lenna, who represented Ukraine at the 2015 Miss Grand International pageant--and Kristina, a former wedding singer.

Kristina was living in Italy last summer when tensions between Ukraine and Russia rose. While knowing the security risks, Kristina returned to her country to become a soldier.

She told a VICE news reporter that ``The risk of saying goodbye to life is always there, [and she is] not afraid of death; [she] is afraid to [become a slave].'' Words that will forever stick with me.

Women's History Month is a celebration of women's contributions to history, culture and society, and there is no better example of this than those women fighting in Ukraine today.

So, on this day, March 9, 2022, I would like to publicly commend the women fighting in Ukraine for their boundless courage and bravery. The world stands with you and will continue to fight alongside you to put an end to Putin's cruel parade.

Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Madam Speaker, I would just say that it is a joy to be on the floor with Representative Jackson Lee. I thank the gentlewoman very, very much. She makes my job very easy.

Madam Speaker, I yield again to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier).

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