[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2688-H2689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
                         WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Waltz) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WALTZ. Mr. Speaker, each year in the month of March, our Nation 
takes time to celebrate Women's History Month and to recognize the 
important role women have played in our personal, local, national, and 
world history.
  We have made progress elevating women throughout our society, but it 
is not enough. There is still more work to be done here at home and 
around the world.
  Women play a critical role in the history of every American.
  As the son of a single mother who worked multiple jobs while putting 
herself through night school, I owe everything I am to this strong, 
independent, American woman. She and millions of other women like her 
blazed the trail for me, for today's young women, and, particularly, 
for my 15-year-old daughter, Anderson.
  I am proud to be raising a young woman at a time where we have seen 
tremendous gains for women in our Nation.
  I am proud to serve alongside a historic 102 women here in this 
Congress, the 116th Congress, including trailblazers like Martha 
McSally, the first female fighter pilot in Congress, and numerous other 
Republican colleagues in the House who were the first women to 
represent their districts: Representatives like Liz Cheney and Elise 
Stefanik, who are working diligently to ensure more female candidates 
have the resources they need to compete in our election system, and 
countless others who inspire me.
  As these national role models continue to be important, it is also 
critical to recognize the important role local heroes and local women 
have in our communities and our Nation, including many from my own 
district in Florida. That is why each week this month I will be 
honoring local women who have had or are having an important impact in 
our community, women like:
  Alice Scott Abbott, a Flagler County resident of the early 1900s who 
worked with the national women's suffrage movement and, following the 
ratification of the 19th Amendment, fervently employed her fellow 
Flagler County women to register and participate in the 1920 November 
election;
  Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded the Volusia County School that 
would later become Bethune-Cookman University. She was a national 
leader on issues related to civil rights, to education, to women and 
young people until her death in 1955.
  Mr. Speaker, as these local heroes exemplify, women and their 
contributions are critical to our success as a nation, but I also 
believe their strength is an essential part of our national security.
  As a Green Beret who operated all over the world, I know firsthand 
where women thrive in business, where they thrive in civil society, in 
politics, and in government, extremism does not. Where women thrive, 
extremism fails.
  As an Afghan elder once told me during one of my combat tours, he 
shared with me his secret weapon in defeating the Taliban. It wasn't a 
weapon or a missile or some type of other secret device. It was his 
teenage daughters, whom he had sent to India to be educated. He looked 
at me and said: This is our secret weapon to defeat extremism.
  And I will quote for you, Mr. Speaker, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning 
young girl who was shot in the face for attending school, Malala 
Yousafzai. She said: ``Extremists have shown what frightens them most: 
a girl with a book.''
  So this Women's History Month must serve as a reminder that as a 
nation we have a responsibility to empower women who participate in 
every aspect of our society--not only for the betterment of America, 
but also as an example for the world.
  So thank you to the women of my district, our Nation, and the world 
who worked to make their communities a better place for us all.


                           Daytona Bike Week

  Mr. WALTZ. Mr. Speaker, This week is Daytona Bike Week, where my 
district welcomes nearly 300,000 avid motorcyclists for our community's 
78th annual celebration of liberty, freedom, and two-wheeled, motorized 
muscle. No other event comes close to matching our combination of 
bikes, Florida beaches, sun, and fun.
  It all started in January 1937, on a 3.2-mile race course running 
along the world's most famous beach--Daytona Beach. Riders first headed 
south on the paved roadway of Route A1A, turned left onto the beach, 
then raced north on the sand until turning back onto the pavement at a 
spot now marked by a favorite local restaurant named Racing's North 
Turn. Then, the riders did it again and again and again for 200 miles.
  This was the birth of the famed Daytona 200 motorcycle race and the 
Bike Week that now surrounds it. Since then, only World War II has 
interrupted these annual festivities. Today, the Daytona 200 headlines 
Bike Week as a spectacular finale in the famed Daytona International 
Speedway.

  Don't miss the week's other high-adrenaline racing, too. The American 
Flat Track series opens its season this week, and the Daytona 
Supercross is back again, bigger and better than ever.
  If you are unsure of where to start, try the brand-new official Bike 
Week Welcome Center, located in One Daytona.

[[Page H2689]]

  So to everyone visiting Daytona this week, thank you for supporting 
our local businesses. Have fun and ride safe.

                          ____________________