[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 7, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4431-H4432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THANK YOU, BUSINESS WEEK

  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I take the floor today to talk about 
what is going on in this country vis-a-vis sexual harassment.
  As you know, in the past it has been career suicide for a woman to 
come forward and make any allegation of sexual harassment. But today, I 
want to congratulate Business Week. Business Week has made their cover 
story about this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not normally take the floor to congratulate anyone, 
but I think when the business press of America takes this issue this 
seriously, we should really congratulate them, because rather than 
trying to paint over the issue, paint over the rust and try and deny 
it, they are saying it is time we get on with dealing with this.
  The reason it is so important is how they name the article: ``Abuse 
of Power.'' That is what sexual harassment is all about. Abuse of 
power.
  America hears all these jokes about, oh, we cannot joke with women. 
Yes, you can do that; for heavens sakes, we are all human beings. But 
where you cross the line legally is when someone who has power over you 
in the workplace, power over you, starts adding all sorts of things to 
your normal work day world that was not in the work contract. That 
abuse of power, that is what it is about.
  In this article, they talk about what went on at Astra, the 
pharmaceutical where they found even the highest ranking CEO and 
officials, people who were to set the tone, and as you know, some of 
them have now been dismissed and moved on.
  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission tells us that in the last 
4 years, from 1991 to 1995, there has been a 125 percent increase in 
the filings on sexual harassment.
  Why this tremendous increase? Why this flood? Well, first of all, I 
think because we have not cracked the culture. We have not cracked the 
culture yet to explain why this is so important and why you cannot do 
this.
  So, culture cracking becomes very critical, but secondly, Members of 
Congress, the Congresswomen, by taking the lead in 1991, passed a law 
that for the first time gave many more remedies to women who had 
suffered at the hands of sexual harassment, or men.

  Obviously, there is a small percentage of men who may find themselves 
in this situation. I am not saying that women are pure. I guess there 
just are not as many women at the top. I hope when they got to the top 
CEO positions they will not do this, but who knows?
  Nevertheless, it is wrong if it is done to a man; it is wrong if it 
is done to a woman. There is no place for this in the workplace, and it 
is all about power, power, power, power. I hope people pick up this 
magazine and read it because it is very serious.
  And I hope in workplaces across America, as we close in on Mother's 
Day, people realize these are mothers, these are sisters, these are 
aunts. We do not want people treating people that way in the workplace 
as a condition of keeping their job. So often they need that job for 
the family, and yet they are asked to do things that are not at all 
family friendly in anybody's book, just because somebody has the power 
to make them do it.
  Mr. Speaker, we used to see this out West where some newcomer came 
into the bar and everybody shot at their feet to make them tap dance. 
Well, that is exactly what this type of sexual harassment is. Thank 
goodness women now have a tool and men have a tool to be able to go 
into the Federal courts.
  I am terribly sorry that the EEOC is backlogged with these, and the 
Congress, of course the response is to continue to try to choke the 
EEOC down. I think we ought to have hearings on this. If Business Week 
has the guts to take this on, this Congress ought to have the guts to 
take it on.
  If we see the EEOC is resource-starved, then we ought to get the 
resources to them. We ought to be handling these cases expeditiously 
and moving forward because it appears there is a whole opening of the 
floodgates on this. If we get these cases solved, if we get the 
resources to begin to move it, we will crack the culture. Hopefully, 
this will be something that we can start the 21st century without even 
having it in our culture anymore.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I call upon the Members on the other side of the 
aisle

[[Page H4432]]

to look for the resources that the EEOC needs to deal with this 
terrific influx of new cases. I call upon people all across America to 
look at this very seriously, and realize what it must feel like to be 
someone who needs a job being asked at that job to do some things that 
go against their religion, their beliefs, their family, everything. It 
is outrageous and it must stop.
  Thank you, Business Week.

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