[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 48 (Monday, March 20, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H2208-H2210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   100 YEARS OF WOMEN IN CONGRESS ACT

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 382) to amend the Department of 
Agriculture program for research and extension grants to increase 
participation by women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to redesignate the 
program as the ``Jeannette Rankin Women and Minorities in STEM Fields 
Program''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 382

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``100 Years of Women in 
     Congress Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The first woman elected to Congress, Representative 
     Jeannette Rankin from Montana, was elected on November 7, 
     1916, almost four years prior to ratification of the 19th 
     Amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving women the right to 
     vote.
       (2) Jeannette Rankin was not only a pioneer in national 
     electoral politics, she was also a pioneer as a woman in 
     science, graduating from the University of Montana in 1902 
     with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology.
       (3) 100 years after the swearing-in of Jeannette Rankin, 
     109 women serve in the 115th Congress, more than at any other 
     time in our Nation's history. While this improvement is 
     commendable, women hold only 20 percent of the seats in 
     Congress, far below their relative share of the American 
     electorate.
       (4) According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women 
     make up 47 percent of the total U.S. workforce. Gains have 
     been made in the science, technology, engineering, and 
     mathematics (STEM) fields over time, but women still comprise 
     only 39 percent of chemists and material scientists, 28 
     percent of environmental scientists and geoscientists, 16 
     percent of chemical engineers, and 12 percent of civil 
     engineers.
       (5) More must be done to encourage women to run for elected 
     office and to enter STEM fields.

     SEC. 3. JEANNETTE RANKIN WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN STEM FIELDS 
                   PROGRAM.

       Paragraph (7) of section 1672(d) of the Food, Agriculture, 
     Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925(d)(7)) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(7) Jeannette rankin women and minorities in stem fields 
     program.--Research and extension grants may be made under 
     this section to increase participation by women and 
     underrepresented minorities from rural areas in the fields of 
     science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, with 
     priority given to eligible institutions that carry out 
     continuing programs funded by the Secretary. Any grant made 
     under this paragraph shall be known and designated as a 
     `Jeannette Rankin Women and Minorities in STEM Fields Program 
     Grant'.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) and the gentlewoman from Delaware (Ms. 
Blunt Rochester) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.

[[Page H2209]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I am glad to stand here with the gentlewoman from Delaware (Ms. Blunt 
Rochester), another one of our new colleagues on the House Committee on 
Agriculture, in support of H.R. 382, the 100 Years of Women in Congress 
Act.
  This legislation would honor a true pioneer of American politics by 
naming an important agricultural research program at the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture as the Jeannette Rankin Women and Minorities 
in STEM Fields Program. This competitive research grant program is 
designed to increase participation by women and underrepresented 
minorities from rural areas in the fields of science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics. I can think of no better person to 
identify with this important program than former Representative Rankin, 
who was the first woman to serve in this great institution, the United 
States House of Representatives, an achievement made even more 
significant by the fact that Ms. Rankin was elected to Congress several 
years prior to the ratification of the 19th Amendment granting women 
the right to vote.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this important piece of 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

         House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, 
           and Technology,
                                   Washington, DC, March 16, 2017.
     Hon. Michael Conaway,
     Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning H.R. 382, the 
     ``100 Years of Women in Congress Act,'' which was introduced 
     on January 9, 2017.
       H.R. 382 contains provisions within the Committee on 
     Science, Space, and Technology's Rule X jurisdiction. In 
     order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the 
     Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will forego 
     action on the bill. This is being done on the basis of our 
     mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or 
     alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space, 
     and Technology with respect to the appointment of conferees, 
     or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject 
     matters contained in the bill or similar legislation.
       I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming 
     this understanding, and would request that you include a copy 
     of this letter and your response in the Congressional Record 
     during the floor consideration of this bill. Thank you in 
     advance for your cooperation.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Lamar Smith,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                     Committee on Agriculture,

                                   Washington, DC, March 16, 2017.
     Hon. Lamar S. Smith,
     Chairman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House 
         of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R. 
     382, the ``100 Years of Women in Congress Act.'' I agree that 
     the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology has a valid 
     jurisdictional claim to provisions in this legislation, and I 
     am most appreciative of your decision not to request a 
     referral in the interest of expediting consideration of the 
     bill. I agree that by foregoing a sequential referral, the 
     Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is not waiving 
     its jurisdiction. Further, I will include a copy of our 
     exchange in the Congressional Record during the floor 
     consideration.
           Sincerely,
                                               K. Michael Conaway,
                                                         Chairman.

  Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my 
distinguished colleague from the State of New York (Ms. Meng), the 
sponsor of this legislation.

                              {time}  1545

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to be here today to 
celebrate the 100th anniversary of women serving in Congress.
  I thank the Speaker for allowing this legislation to come to the 
floor. And I thank my good friend and former colleague, Secretary 
Zinke, for authoring this legislation with me. His support has been 
instrumental in ensuring the consideration of this bill, and I am 
deeply grateful to him.
  One hundred years ago, Jeannette Rankin was sworn in as a Member of 
the United States House of Representatives. She was the first woman 
elected to Congress, and was elected before passage of the 19th 
amendment which granted women the right to vote.
  Jeannette Rankin was a trailblazer her entire life. In 1902, she 
graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in biology. 
Afterward, she became active in the women's suffrage movement, moving 
to New York City and assisting in the founding of the New York Women's 
Suffrage Party and working for the National American Woman Suffrage 
Association.
  Rankin would eventually return to her home State of Montana, and was 
elected to office in the congressional election of 1916. Upon winning, 
she declared: ``I may be the first woman Member of Congress, but I 
won't be the last.''
  I am happy to say that she was right.
  In recognition of Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin's many 
accomplishments, and in celebration of the centennial anniversary of 
her service in Congress, Secretary Zinke and I introduced the 100 Years 
of Women in Congress Act.
  Because Jeannette Rankin was a woman of science more than 100 years 
before our current push to have more women enter STEM fields, we felt 
it appropriate to rename the Department of Agriculture's Women and 
Minorities in STEM Fields Program after her.
  This program currently supports collaborative research projects at 
institutions of higher education, and seeks to increase the 
participation of women and minorities from rural areas in STEM fields. 
It will continue to do so in the future, but now it will also recognize 
the many contributions Jeannette Rankin made to American life.
  Madam Speaker, thank you again for allowing this legislation to the 
floor today, and thank you again to Secretary Zinke for partnering with 
me on it.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 382, the 100 Years of Women in Congress 
Act.
  This bipartisan legislation will recognize the work that Jeannette 
Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress in 1916, accomplished 
fighting for women's rights. It will rename the USDA's Women and 
Minorities in STEM Fields Program to the Jeannette Rankin Women and 
Minorities in STEM Fields Grant Program. In our time, it is critical 
that we encourage more women to enter STEM fields across this country. 
In receiving a bachelor's degree in biology before women even had the 
right to vote, she set an example for those who followed her to follow 
their passions for science and to achieve impactful leadership roles.
  As I travel through Delaware, one of the consistent messages that I 
hear from businesses and universities is the need for more engineers. 
We have a wealth of knowledge in our young girls who are demanding 
rigorous programs that put them in place for rewarding careers. These 
types of programs match the boundless enthusiasm with concrete steps 
towards achieving meaningful career goals that benefit our entire 
country.
  My sister, Thea, demonstrates the impact of successful STEM education 
from organizations like the Forum to Advance Minority Engineers--FAME--
for schoolchildren in Delaware, to her attending an HBCU as an 
engineering major, and in her career spent serving our country as an 
engineer with the Army.
  My late husband Charles received undergraduate and graduate degrees 
in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Those degrees gave him the 
opportunity to travel the world as an engineer and give back to the 
energy sector.
  However, my family and I know that the answer doesn't simply end with 
STEM. It is also about incorporating the arts into one's education in 
the form of STEAM, where we can see the balance that a quality 
education provides.
  In my experiences, as the first woman elected to Congress from 
Delaware, I understand the challenges that come with trying to break 
through barriers. That is why this legislation and the impact of 
getting more young women to pursue STEM and STEAM careers is so deeply 
personal to me.

[[Page H2210]]

  As Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin said before taking her oath of 
office in 1917--nearly 4 years before women had even gained the right 
to vote through the 19th Amendment--as you heard before, she said: ``I 
may be the first woman to be a Member of Congress, but I won't be the 
last.''
  I am honored to serve as one of the more than 300 women to follow her 
lead. When we look to history to guide us in challenging moments, we 
will look to people like Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin, and I am 
confident she would be honored to have her name associated with this 
legislation and its aims.
  I thank the sponsors, and I thank my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle for this bipartisan work.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the 
balance of my time.
  I would be remiss if I didn't thank my colleague, who I was sworn in 
with in January of 2013 when she raised her right hand, as I did, on 
this floor to join this great institution, my colleague, Grace Meng, 
for being the sponsor of this piece of legislation. I thank Grace for 
her leadership, and also Ms. Blunt Rochester, the first woman elected 
to serve in this institution from the State of Delaware. It is humbling 
and an honor for me to be able to stand here and help manage this piece 
of legislation. She should be very proud of what she is doing today.
  Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in support of this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members as well to 
support passage of H.R. 382, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 382.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________