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Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, just yesterday, all of us returned to the U.S. Capitol following a 5-week stretch where we exercised the opportunity to meet with our constituents in our homes, visit updated projects and attend events in our respective States; and some of us traveled across the country and around the world to expand our understanding and gather lessons so that we can apply that to our work here in Washington.

I was able to accomplish this at home by attending my State's annual economic development summit, where I met business leaders from all across West Virginia on a variety of issues from a variety of fields.

Through meetings with individuals in specific industries, I was able to share the landscape that I currently see in Washington and hear about the specific policies that are impacting West Virginia most directly. I was also able to attend a really great event, a ribbon- cutting ceremony for a brandnew high school in Kanawha County. This school, Herbert Hoover High School, had been decimated--the former school--in 2016 by floods, and we all gathered there and celebrated something that was really awful into something very joyful. And our own home State Brad Paisley came and gave us a concert to celebrate with.

During the ceremony, the West Virginia spirit was really palpable as the community worked hard to remedy the scars from that horrible flood. It was a special occasion, and I think it proved to me and to all of us the resiliency that defines the people of my State, and I would say Connecticut as well.

The August work period also provided the opportunity for me to lead an all-women Congressional delegation of bipartisan, bicameral members to the Indo-Pacific region. The trip kind of had a dual mission. The first was to discuss national and global security and energy in the Indo-Pacific region. The second was to explore issues related to the empowerment of women and girls--the status of women in sports--and building on current momentum in that space.

To do both in a week is certainly a tall order, as the two are seemingly disconnected. We went hoping, originally, obviously, to see the U.S. women's soccer team play in the World Cup. We didn't quite get to see them, but we did see all of the excitement around the Women's World Cup, and we did get to see a great match between Japan and Sweden.

But the experience we gained proved that these topics are really more related than what meets the eye. The center focus that binds these two missions that we had together are our U.S. values. These values have tangible power, and our ability to lead by our values displays the influence that our Nation has in both of these areas.

When Congress passed title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, sex discrimination and education programs and activities offered by any entity that receives Federal financial assistance was barred. It was monumental legislation for women and women's sports.

This forever changed the way that women participate in our society and has paved the way for life-changing scholarships, a dramatic change in women's participation in our economy, and the consequent rise of U.S. women's sports.

The ascension of women's involvement in sports has created a ripple effect that is not just felt in our country--we certainly saw it halfway around the world--but around the entire globe. American coaches and former players have traveled globally to inspire and encourage the next generation of female athletes. Businesses have funded and broadcast women's games, as they didn't in the past. And in America, girls' participation in high school sports continues to rise, with 3.3 million girls competing in high school sports in the 2022 school year.

The truth is, the growth of women's sports, both domestically and internationally, is a result of that increased role that women now embody. Communities and countries around the world, including our own country, are more likely to be peaceful and successful when women fully participate in society.

The world has begun to realize that this kind of support is simply the right thing to do and is now embracing the values that the United States has led with.

Our codel saw this directly through our travel in Australia and New Zealand and our meeting with leaders from the Women's World Cup. We met with the U.S. leaders, and we met with the international leaders. And while the United States didn't take home that title this year, our presence alone continues to have an impact in every tournament where the Stars and Stripes are represented.

Now, the question remains, how is women's empowerment a metaphor-- sports I am talking about too--a metaphor for global security? Well, here in Congress we have supported Ukraine not just in defense of democratic values and territorial sovereignty, but also because it advances U.S. security interests and deterrence.

The United States has led the push to bring together allies from Europe and across the world to not just understand the threat created by Putin, but to respond to it with strength.

We have made that progress by leading with our values and with our interests to stop aggression in its tracks, whether it is in Europe or elsewhere.

The United States has shown the way through significant bipartisan military support. Our global leadership against aggression and autocratic land grabs has built a formidable opposition that Russia simply did not anticipate and that China can see clearly every single day.

For example, our codel witnessed joint exercises in the Australian seas that were the first of their kind between India, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Japan has, for the first time, committed more than 2 percent of its gross domestic product to defense. Sweden and Finland have just recently joined NATO. The EU is buying more crude oil from the United States as they divest from Russia. And new economic partnerships are cropping up globally as a result of our U.S. leadership.

The tie between women's empowerment and global security is an American values-based leadership. The members of our bipartisan and bicameral codel--we saw that firsthand. As our leadership and values inspire nations across the globe, we must respect, encourage, and celebrate those that exemplify it.

You know, you don't have power if you don't use it; but by working together, our strong leadership here in the United States can continue to change the world.

I really cherished the opportunity to gain experience, knowledge, and perspective from our leaders at the headquarters of the U.S. Indo- Pacific Command, as well as leaders throughout the region, when it comes to domestic and international security matters and energy issues in the Indo-Pacific.

I am also thankful for the company and counsel from the other members of our codel: Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith from Mississippi, Representative Chrissy Houlahan from Pennsylvania, Representative Kathy Castor from Florida, and Representative Nicole Malliotakis from New York, as well as their steadfast desire that we all share together to engage on these topics and issues.

There is no doubt that Congress has an extensive list of challenges facing us in the coming month, but I am really confident in our ability to meet the needs of our country--both domestically and abroad--and to exemplify that value-based leadership that was evident throughout our trip.

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