[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 89 (Monday, June 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H4140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TWO CHEERS FOR TITLE 9, WITH MORE TO COME

  (Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today is the 25th anniversary of a landmark 
civil rights statute. Title 9 is singularly responsible for remarkable 
progress in eliminating sex discrimination from athletic and sports 
programs in schools and colleges.
  Two years before title 9's effective date, an estimated 50,000 men, 
but only 50 women, were attending college on athletic scholarships. 
Today, women account for $137 million in Division I athletic 
scholarships but men get $407 million. Way to go; but a long way to go, 
too.
  Title 9 requires equal allocation between male and female athletes. 
There are very good reasons for insisting upon strict enforcement, and 
many of them have little to do with athletics. Girls who participate in 
sports are more likely to graduate from high school and from college 
and have less depression.
  Surely these are reasons enough to restore enforcement funds for 
States that Congress ripped out of title 9 last year. For now, only two 
cheers for title 9, with more to come.

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