[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  EDUCATION AND WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, as the Republican co-chair of the 
Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, I am pleased to join the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), the other co-
chair of the Women's Caucus, and my other colleagues in celebrating 
March as women's history month.
  Women accomplished so much in the 20th Century and I am fortunate and 
proud to co-chair the first Women's Caucus of the 21st Century. Let us 
hope that this century is productive for our daughters and 
granddaughters as it was for our mothers and us.
  The last 100 years have seen women make important advancements in the 
area of public service. Not only did our predecessors gain the right to 
vote, but in recent years we have been considered a decidedly important 
voting block. We now have more women serving in the House and the 
Senate than ever before, 61 women in the House and 13 in the Senate. I 
think we will keep seeing these numbers increase.
  We have women serving as Supreme Court justices, governors, Attorneys 
General and in many other elected offices, but we still have a long way 
to go. For all the accomplishments that women have achieved in the 20th 
century, we should not be complacent. We still have a lot to do.
  One of the areas where females have made important strides is in the 
area of education. Women currently make up over 50 percent of college 
freshmen in the country. To think that in 1872, over 100 years ago, 
only 97 educational institutions even accepted women.
  The National Center for Education Statistics report that females are 
now doing as well or better than males on factors measuring educational 
attainment. Nevertheless, women continue to trail their male 
counterparts in the areas of mathematics and science. This is something 
that I hope, through my position on the House Committee on Science, to 
help rectify.
  What is more, women are still underrepresented in doctoral and first 
professional degree programs, although, as the NCEC points out, women 
have made substantial gains in these areas during the last 25 years.
  There are other areas of education where improvements need to be 
made, most notably in the area of school access for so-called 
disadvantaged students. A group of disadvantaged students whose needs 
are often overlooked are homeless children. Homeless children face 
unique problems when attempting to access a quality education. Some 
schools do not allow homeless children to register for classes without 
school or medical records. Others will not enroll children without a 
home address, and there is nobody in the schools whose job it is to 
help them.
  As a result, homeless children wait days and even weeks just to get 
into the classroom. Obviously this has serious and negative 
consequences for their educational advantages.
  Mr. Speaker, some may be wondering why I am talking about homeless 
children during this recognition of the achievements of women. Well, it 
is because, as data shows, educating homeless children is a women's 
issue. According to a Federal study released in 1999, 84 percent of 
parents or guardians of homeless children are female. The average 
homeless family is composed of a single mother in her twenties and two 
children under the age of 6. Single mothers are vulnerable to 
homelessness because of the high cost of housing for families, the high 
cost of child care and lack of housing assistance.
  We must work together as women, as leaders in our community and as 
public servants, to find answers to the destructive cycles caused by 
homelessness and poverty. That is why I have introduced H.R. 623, the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act of 2001. This bill will ensure 
that all homeless children are guaranteed access to public education so 
that they can acquire the skills needed to escape poverty and lead 
healthy and productive lives. It will also strengthen the parental 
rights at a time when mothers of homeless children find themselves most 
vulnerable. It will help homeless mothers pay for school supplies and 
other emergency items that children need to participate in school, such 
as clothes, eyeglasses and hygiene products.
  Many mothers have expressed gratitude through letters and cards for 
these items which they could not otherwise afford at such a difficult 
point in their lives. Working hard now to ensure a brighter future for 
all Americans is something that we as women learn the importance of 
during our struggle to gain equality in the 20th century. During the 
month of March, it is fitting that women take time to reflect back upon 
and celebrate our collective accomplishments over the last 100 years. 
We must use every opportunity to show how we are going to use the 
lessons learned in yesteryear's battles to eliminate illiteracy, 
increase educational opportunity for all and promote high academic 
achievements. If we do so, that would give women 100 years from now 
something to crow about.

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