[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 38 (Thursday, March 8, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S1501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA
Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I am proud to stand here today on
International Women's Day, the 8th day of March, 2012, to pay tribute
to women around the world but also to acknowledge that women around the
world, on Monday, March 12, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
founding of the Girl Scouts of America, founded in Savannah, GA, a
beautiful town, by a wonderful Georgia lady, Juliette Gordon Low. Girl
Scouts around the world will be celebrating the founding of that great
organization, which has had a positive effect on women around the
world.
Each of us right now is well aware of the Girl Scouts because of
boxes like this box the Acting President pro tempore gave me permission
to display, which is what is left of a box of Thin Mints. The Girl
Scouts sell boxes of cookies this time of year to raise money for their
operations around the world. I eat far too many of them. They are good.
They are good for me, they are good for America, and they are good for
the Girl Scouts and the fundraising they do.
The Girl Scouts is an organization of leadership, developing women
for the future. While only 17 percent of this body are women, almost
all of them were Girl Scouts. Almost all women of business were Girl
Scouts. And almost all women who were in Girl Scouts pay tribute to the
Girl Scouts of America and the contribution they have made to their
lives. There are 3.2 million active Girl Scouts in America today, and
there are 50 million Girl Scout alumni in America. That has a
tremendous impact on all that is right about America.
The Girl Scouts have been pacesetters. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a
native of my city of Atlanta and a native of our State that Juliette
Low was from, cited the Girl Scouts of America as ``a force for
desegregation'' during the troubled times of the 1950s and 1960s. The
Girl Scouts were at the forefront of integration and leadership for
youth.
The Girl Scouts of America also pledge themselves and they make a
promise, which I would like to read.
On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout law.
Which reads:
I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.
That is not a motto just for the Girl Scouts but one that would serve
us all well in this body.
So on this International Women's Day on March 8, I would like to
acknowledge that on Monday, when we are not here, around the world
women will celebrate the founding of the Girl Scouts of America, and
the 3.2 million Girl Scouts in America today will be building for the
future the Acting President pro tempore and I work for today in this
body, the U.S. Senate.
I yield back the remainder of my time and suggest the absence of a
quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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