[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 106 (Monday, July 26, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H6403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TITLE IX AND ITS EFFECTS FOR OUR COUNTRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Sherwood). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to honor the gentlewoman from 
Hawaii (Mrs. Mink) for her good works on Title IX and everything else 
she does here for women and children and families and all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, last Monday night I had the chance to see in person the 
effects of Title IX firsthand. And let me tell my colleagues, I was 
impressed. Last Monday night, a number of my colleagues and I flew to 
Florida with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team and with the First 
Lady to watch the space shuttle launch. While we were there, we met 
with female astronauts and we met with other women involved with the 
space program.
  Of course, I do not have to describe the American women's soccer team 
to anyone that is listening here tonight or anybody in this Chamber. I 
cannot imagine that there is an American who has not heard of their 
skill, their power, and their success and does not hold them in awe.
  These women, these young women are the products of Title IX. They are 
the perfect example of the importance of Title IX. They are an example 
for every female player on every women's sport team in the Nation. But 
less well known are the benefits of Title IX for women like the women 
astronauts that I met.
  Title IX says that no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded 
or discriminated against under any educational program or activity 
receiving Federal aid. So it is not just sports. Before Title IX, most 
institutions of higher education, as the gentlewoman from Hawaii told 
us, refused to admit women or have strict quotas on the number of women 
admitted. Since Title IX, however, there have been significant 
increases in women's educational achievements, particularly in what 
were traditionally all-male fields like science, engineering, math, and 
technology.
  So while we were gathered there the other night to celebrate the very 
real achievements of women on and off the playing field due to Title 
IX, we must also be aware of how much there is left to do. According to 
the National Science Foundation, the low participation of women in 
math, science, and engineering is a true and serious national problem. 
Too many girls lose interest in science and math during elementary and 
middle school and refuse to take, or fail to take advantage of these 
courses that they will need to prepare themselves for technical and 
science degrees, and technical and science high-paid careers. Too few 
women earn college degrees in science, engineering, math, and 
technology. Even though women make up slightly more than 50 percent of 
our population, they are less than 30 percent of America's scientists.
  My colleagues may be asking me, so what? Is that some national 
problem? Well, the answer is absolutely yes, this is a big problem. A 
big problem for employers, a big problem for women as future wage-
earners, and a huge problem for our Nation as we compete in the global 
marketplace. Quite clearly, there is no way for America to have a 
technically competent work force if the majority of students, females, 
do not prepare themselves and study for science, math, and technology 
careers.
  That is why I have introduced a bill to help school districts 
encourage girls to pursue these technical careers. My bill is formally 
entitled, Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21st Century Act, but it is 
known as ``Go, Girl.'' Go, Girl will encourage a bold new work force of 
energized young women in science, math, engineering, and technology. 
Go, Girl funds programs in elementary and high school to encourage 
girls to study and pursue careers in those fields.
  Today, women are big winners on the soccer field, and that is with 
the help of Title IX. Now we need to get Title IX and Go, Girl into the 
classroom to make more girls and their future employers winners by 
preparing girls for careers in science, math, engineering, and 
technology.
  Mr. Speaker, Title IX says, no person shall, on the basis of sex, be 
excluded or discriminated against under any educational program or 
activity receiving Federal aid. Our job now is to encourage all girls 
and young women to take advantage of Title IX opportunities and like 
the American soccer women and the women astronauts, become all that 
they can be.

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