[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1830
                   WRESTLING WITH FEDERAL BUREAUCRATS

  (Mr. HASTERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, as we wrestle with a way to save Medicare, 
I rise today to urge my colleagues to help me save college wrestling 
and other sports that have fallen victim to an intrusive Federal 
bureaucracy.
  In my home State of Illinois, four of the major State-funded 
universities have either dropped or threatened to drop wrestling as a 
varsity sport.
  These schools have been forced to consider these cuts because of a 
misinterpretation of title IX. The Office of Civil Rights in the 
Department of Education has demanded that schools drop men sports, such 
as wrestling, soccer, and swimming, in order to achieve numerical 
proportionality with women sports.
  This is another example of what happens when good intentions turn 
into unintended consequences.
  Mr. Speaker, the purpose of title IX is not to limit opportunity. The 
purpose is to create even greater opportunity for all of our young 
athletes.
  As a former wrestling coach, I urge my colleagues to consider 
commonsense changes to title IX. Let us not allow Federal bureaucrats 
to pin down the hopes and dreams of millions of America's athletes.

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