[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 11, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3305-H3307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SUPPORTING THE GOALS OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 194) supporting the goals of International Women's 
Day, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 194

       Whereas there are over 3,000,000,000 women in the world, 
     representing 51 percent of the world's population;
       Whereas women continue to play the prominent role in caring 
     for families within the home as well as serving as economic 
     earners;
       Whereas women worldwide are participating in the world of 
     diplomacy and politics, contributing to the growth of 
     economies, and improving the quality of the lives of their 
     families, communities, and nations;
       Whereas women leaders have recently made significant 
     strides, including the 2009 appointment of Johanna 
     Sigurdardottir as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, 
     the 2007 election of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi as the first 
     female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, 
     the 2006 election of Michelle Bachelet as the first female 
     President of Chile, the 2006 election of Ellen Johnson-
     Sirleaf as the President of Liberia, the first female 
     President in Africa's history, and the 2005 election of 
     Angela Merkel as the first female Chancellor of Germany, who 
     also served as the second woman to chair a G8 summit in 2007;
       Whereas women account for 80 percent of the world's 70 
     million micro-borrowers, 75 percent of the 28,000 United 
     States loans supporting small businesses in Afghanistan are 
     given to women, and 12 women are chief executive officers of 
     Fortune 500 companies;
       Whereas in the United States women are graduating from high 
     school at higher rates and are earning bachelor's degrees or 
     higher degrees at greater rates than men with 88 percent of 
     women between the ages of 25 and 29 having obtained a high 
     school diploma and 31 percent of women between the ages of 25 
     and 29 earning a bachelor's degree or higher degree;
       Whereas despite tremendous gains over the past 20 years, 
     women still face political and economic obstacles, struggle 
     for basic rights, face the threat of discrimination, and are 
     targets of violence all over the world;
       Whereas worldwide women remain vastly underrepresented in 
     national and local assemblies, accounting on average for less 
     than 10 percent of the seats in parliament, except for in 
     East Asia where the figure is approximately 18 to 19 percent, 
     and women do not hold more than 8 percent of the ministerial 
     positions in developing regions;
       Whereas women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, 
     produce half of the world's food, yet earn only 1 percent of 
     the world's income and own less than 1 percent of the world's 
     property;
       Whereas female managers earned less than their male 
     counterparts in the 10 industries that employed the vast 
     majority of all female employees in the United States between 
     1995 and 2000;
       Whereas 70 percent of the 1,300,000,000 people living in 
     poverty around the world are women and children;
       Whereas two-thirds of the 876,000,000 illiterate 
     individuals worldwide are women, two-thirds of the 
     125,000,000 school-aged children who are not attending school 
     worldwide are girls, and girls are less likely to complete 
     school than boys according to the United States Agency for 
     International Development;
       Whereas worldwide women account for half of all cases of 
     HIV/AIDS, (approximately 42,000,000), and in countries with 
     high HIV prevalence, young women are at a higher risk than 
     young men of contracting HIV;
       Whereas globally, each year over 500,000 women die during 
     childbirth and pregnancy;
       Whereas domestic violence causes more deaths and disability 
     among women between the ages of 15 and 44 than cancer, 
     malaria, traffic accidents, and war;
       Whereas worldwide, at least 1 out of every 3 women and 
     girls has been beaten in her lifetime;
       Whereas at least 1 out of every 6 women and girls in the 
     United States has been sexually abused in her lifetime, 
     according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
       Whereas worldwide, 130,000,000 girls and young women have 
     been subjected to female genital mutilation, and it is 
     estimated that 10,000 girls are at risk of being subjected to 
     this practice in the United States;
       Whereas illegal trafficking in women and children for 
     forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation 
     involves between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 women and children 
     each year, of whom 50,000 are transported into the United 
     States, according to the Congressional Research Service and 
     the Department of State;
       Whereas between 75 and 80 percent of the world's 27,000,000 
     refugees are women and children;
       Whereas in times and places of conflict and war, women and 
     girls continue to be the focus of extreme violence and 
     intimidation and face tremendous obstacles to legal recourse 
     and justice;
       Whereas March 8 has become known as International Women's 
     Day for the last century, and is a day on which people, often 
     divided by ethnicity, language, culture, and income, come 
     together to celebrate a common struggle for women's equality, 
     justice, and peace; and
       Whereas the people of the United States should be 
     encouraged to participate in International Women's Day: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals of International Women's Day;
       (2) recognizes and honors the women in the United States 
     and in other countries who have fought and continue to 
     struggle for equality in the face of adversity;
       (3) reaffirms its commitment to ending discrimination and 
     violence against women and girls, to ensuring the safety and 
     welfare of women and girls, and to pursuing policies that 
     guarantee the basic human rights of women and girls both in 
     the United States and in other countries; and
       (4) encourages the President to--
       (A) reaffirm his commitment to pursue policies to protect 
     fundamental human rights and civil liberties, particularly 
     those of women and girls; and
       (B) issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the 
     United States to observe International Women's Day with 
     appropriate programs and activities.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Berman) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, 
and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I first want to thank Representative Jan Schakowsky and the other 
cosponsors of this resolution for honoring the contributions and 
achievements of women around the world, and the importance of promoting 
and protecting their rights.
  Today, women all over the world are becoming leaders in science, 
medicine, arts, politics, and even the military. Despite this progress, 
it is a sad fact that women and girls continue to constitute the vast 
majority of the world's poor, chronically hungry, refugees, HIV-
infected, uneducated, unemployed and disenfranchised. All too often, 
women are subject to physical violence and discrimination as a result 
of their gender. Women are also the targets of cruel cultural 
practices, including genital mutilation, forced and early marriages, 
humiliating and harmful widow practices, bride burnings and honor 
killings.
  On average, women continue to receive less pay for work of equal 
value, and many continue to face discrimination in hiring and admission 
to educational institutions. It is not enough to simply declare the 
equality of women and condemn their mistreatment. We must, in all 
sectors of society, address the structural factors that prevent women 
and girls from enjoying the same rights and opportunities as boys and 
men.
  We must also eliminate the criminal and cultural practices that 
destroy the lives and freedom and health of women. Statistics 
demonstrate that when women's quality of life improves, their

[[Page H3306]]

children are happier, healthier and better educated. Entire communities 
and countries benefit from these improvements. Successful, educated and 
respected women also become powerful role models for future 
generations.
  In honor of our family members, our female colleagues and our 
Speaker, not to mention women across the country and around the world, 
I am proud to support this resolution and urge all my colleagues to do 
the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  H. Res. 194, supporting the goals of International Women's Day, 
provides us with an opportunity to celebrate the important 
contributions to all levels of society and social advancement of women 
around the globe.
  I would like to focus my comments on three areas referenced in the 
resolution on which so much more needs to be done to ensure women and 
girls worldwide achieve their full potential. One is with respect to 
the horrible phenomenon, the criminality, of human trafficking. The 
resolution cites reported estimates that between one and two million 
women are trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labor, and 
domestic servitude each year. Some NGO estimates are far higher than 
that number. Women are robbed of their dignity, fundamental human 
rights, and forced into bondage and sexual servitude. They are modern-
day slaves.
  In 2000, I was the prime sponsor of the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act of 2000 which, together with its reauthorizations, 
including Chairman Berman's legislation reauthorizing the law last year 
named after the great British parliamentarian William Wilberforce, who 
stopped the slave trade in London, has made the United States a leader 
in addressing the egregious human rights violations of trafficking and 
motivated other countries and governments to do the same. Yet much work 
remains to be done if we are to eliminate this scourge. Too much 
demand, enabled by crass indifference, unbridled hedonism and 
misogynistic attitudes, has turned women and girls into objects, valued 
only for their utility in the brothel or in the sweatshop. Society has 
helped perpetuate this heinous crime by failing to utilize all the 
means at our disposal to combat it.
  Legislation that I will soon introduce, along with Don Payne from my 
own home State of New Jersey, entitled the ``International Megan's 
Law,'' would address this omission with respect to sex tourism to 
exploit children. It would seek to protect girls and boys around the 
world from sexual exploitation by establishing a notification system 
between governments when a known high-risk sex offender is traveling or 
intends to travel internationally.
  Government representatives from other countries, including Thailand, 
Brazil, the United Kingdom and Australia, have expressed a desire to 
cooperate with the United States to address the degrading exploitation 
that occurs as a result of sex tourism. Girls are the primary victims 
in this often overlooked form of trafficking.
  Another key area in critical need of improvement is that of maternal 
health. Most of us are familiar with the appalling statistic that in 
sub-Saharan Africa, the lifetime risk of maternal death is 1 in 16, 
compared with 1 in 2,800 in developed countries. It is unacceptable and 
awful in the extreme that most of these maternal deaths are 
preventable.

                              {time}  1400

  During the Africa Subcommittee's hearing about safe blood that I 
chaired in the 109th Congress, we heard from Dr. Neelam Dhingra of the 
World Health Organization. Dr. Dhingra informed us that the most common 
cause of maternal death in sub-Saharan Africa is severe bleeding, which 
can take the life of even a healthy woman within 2 hours if not 
properly and immediately treated. She gave us the astonishing statistic 
that in Africa severe bleeding during delivery or after childbirth 
contributes to up to 44 percent of maternal deaths, many of which could 
be prevented simply by having access to safe blood. A sufficient 
quantity and quality of immediately available and usable blood must 
become the norm and not the exception. I congratulate Chaka Fattah from 
Philadelphia, a Member of Congress, for his work in promoting safe 
blood.
  Another unacceptable risk for many women giving birth in the 
developing world, especially Africa, is obstetric fistula. Fistula, Mr. 
Speaker, can be treated and repaired through a relatively minor 
surgical procedure that costs, on average, $150 per surgery. Still, 
large numbers of women, an estimated 2 million, endure tremendous pain 
and numbing isolation that comes from being the walking wounded, 
incontinent and ostracized, and not able to get to a hospital--like the 
famous hospital in Addis, which performs these wonderful interventions. 
I visited that hospital and saw dozens of women who got fistula repair, 
and the smiles on their faces were amazing. With just a small 
investment of health care dollars, the lives of women throughout Africa 
could be dramatically changed.
  Helping mothers and helping babies goes hand in hand, Mr. Speaker. 
There is no dichotomy. When women receive proper prenatal and maternal 
health care, they are less likely to die in childbirth, and when unborn 
babies are healthy in the womb, they emerge as healthier, stronger 
newborns.
  Birth is not the beginning of life, it is merely an event in the 
baby's life that began at fertilization. Life is a continuum with many 
stages. I believe, Mr. Speaker, human rights should be respected from 
womb to tomb, and that no violence is acceptable against anyone, 
regardless of age, race, religion, gender, disability, or condition of 
dependency. We need to recognize this biological fact in policy, 
funding and programs, and treat both mother and baby, including the 
unborn child, as two patients in need of respect, love and tangible 
assistance. We need to affirm them both.
  I would like to conclude by raising the plight of women, and 
especially the girl child, who suffer from the coercive population 
control agenda of the Chinese Government.
  As you know, Mr. Speaker, I was blocked from offering two pro-life, 
pro-child, pro-women amendments to the huge $410 billion omnibus. One 
of those amendments would have restored the Kemp-Kasten policy for all 
organizations, including the U.N. Population Fund, if they had been 
found to be involved with coercive population control.
  I held 26 hearings, Mr. Speaker, on human rights in China when I was 
the chairman of the Human Rights Subcommittee and met with numerous 
women during frequent human rights missions to China. There is no doubt 
that the U.N. Population Fund has supported, co-managed, and 
whitewashed the most pervasive crimes against women in all of human 
history.
  China's one-child-per-couple policy relies on pervasive coerced 
abortion, involuntary sterilization, ruinous fines in the amounts of up 
to ten times the salary of both parents, imprisonment, and job loss or 
a demotion to achieve its quotas. In China today, brothers and sisters 
are illegal. Women are told when and if they can have the one child 
permitted by law. And rather than showing compassion and tangible 
assistance to unwed mothers, unwed moms, even if it's their first baby, 
are forcibly aborted. Let me say that again. There are no unwed moms in 
China, they are all forcibly aborted.
  Women are severely harmed emotionally, psychologically and 
physically. Chinese women are violated by the state. The suicide rate 
for Chinese women is about 500 per day, according to the most recent 
Human Rights Report from the Department of State--it just came out 2 
weeks ago--and that number far exceeds any other number.
  Then there are the missing girls, upwards of 100 million girls 
missing in China as a direct result of sex selection abortions. This 
gendercide is a direct result of the one-child-per-couple policy 
combined with a preference for boys. That human rights abuse has to be 
made much more visible. The Chinese Government has to take corrective 
action. And all of us have to do our part to stop this gendercide of 
young girls, of little girls.
  I urge unanimous support for H. Res. 194. It is an excellent 
resolution.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. 
Res. 194, ``Supporting the goals of International Women's Day''. As a 
member of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues this resolution 
is very

[[Page H3307]]

important to me and I thank my colleague Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky 
for introducing this resolution.
  H. Res. 194 recognizes and honors the women who have fought and 
continue to struggle for equality. There are over 3,000,000,000 women 
in the world, representing 51 percent of the world's population and 
yet, women remain vastly underrepresented in national and local 
assemblies, face political and economic obstacles, struggle for basic 
rights, face the threat of discrimination, and are targets of violence 
all over the world.
  Despite tremendous gains over the past 20 years women still have 
great strides to make. How is it that women work \2/3\ of the world's 
working hours, produce half of the world's food, yet earn only 1 
percent of the world's income and own less than 1 percent of the 
world's property? Today, although women have reached great heights, 
women are still earning less than their male counterparts in the 
workforce. Two-thirds of illiterate individuals worldwide are women 
which is quite distressing.
  Throughout the world, women are victims of violence and disease. 
Women have become victims of illegal human trafficking for the purpose 
of forced labor, domestic servitude, and/or sexual exploitation. We 
must pledge to stop this violence against women.
  Domestic violence causes more deaths and disability among women 
between the ages of 15 and 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents, 
and war. Worldwide, at least 1 out of every 3 women and girls have been 
beaten in her lifetime and at least 1 out of every 6 women and girls in 
the United States has been sexually abused in her lifetime. 
Furthermore, 70 percent of the people living in poverty around the 
world are women and children. In addition, women account for half of 
all cases of HIV/AIDS worldwide. These statistics are staggering and 
show why this resolution must be passed.
  The United States House of Representatives must show a commitment to 
ending discrimination and violence against women and girls, to ensure 
their safety and welfare, and to pursue policies that guarantee their 
basic rights.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this extremely important 
resolution, H. Res. 194, ``Supporting the goals of International 
Women's Day''. Women's rights affect everyone, as we all have a mother.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, we have no more speakers.
  I might point out the irony that, in a resolution that is 
commemorating International Women's Day, the sponsor of that resolution 
is not available to speak on the floor because she is at the White 
House commemorating International Women's Day. But Ms. Schakowsky's 
comments can be added into the Record.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 194, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________