[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 153 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H9596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO
(Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, time is running out to move the statue of
women suffragettes from the Capitol crypt to the Capitol rotunda.
Despite the unanimous support of the Senate and wide bipartisan support
from the House, no action has been taken. Is that where women's rights
have been relegated this Congress, to the basement?
This Congress has already waged numerous assaults on women. During
the appropriations process, choice opponents succeeded in restricting a
woman's constitutional right to choose, and they threaten to take us
back to the days of dangerous back alley abortions.
Congress has broken its promise to take violence against women
seriously. Last Congress we passed the Violence Against Women Act, yet
this year its funding was substantially reduced.
Education is one of the best ways to increase opportunities for
women. Congress, however, recently eliminated the Women's Educational
Equity Act and reduced job training programs for women. The refusal to
move the statue of Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B.
Anthony is symbolic of this Congress' assault against women. If women
cannot gain a reasonable place in the Capitol rotunda, what can we
expect legislatively?
Women gained the right to vote 75 years ago, but we still have a long
way to go, even to get out of the basement.
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