[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 107 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3164-S3165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 691--AFFIRMING, COMMEMORATING, AND CELEBRATING THE 
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENACTMENT OF TITLE IX, APPLAUDING THE INCREASE 
 IN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO ALL INDIVIDUALS, REGARDLESS 
OF SEX OR GENDER, AND RECOGNIZING THE TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK LEFT TO 
            BE DONE TO FURTHER INCREASE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES

  Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, 
Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, 
Mr. Coons, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, 
Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
Lujan, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Padilla, 
Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Smith, Mr. Tester, 
Ms. Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Hickenlooper) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 691

       Whereas in 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law 
     title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 
     et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as ``title IX'');
       Whereas in 2002, Congress passed a joint resolution 
     establishing that title IX may be cited as the ``Patsy 
     Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act'';
       Whereas title IX prohibits any institution that receives 
     Federal education funding from discriminating against 
     students or employees on the basis of sex;
       Whereas sex discrimination includes discrimination based 
     on--
       (1) pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, and 
     medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, and 
     termination of pregnancy;
       (2) actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender 
     identity, and sex characteristics;
       (3) sex stereotypes; and

[[Page S3165]]

       (4) sex-based harassment, including sexual harassment and 
     assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and sex-based 
     stalking;
       Whereas since 1972, the United States has made great 
     progress in providing educational opportunities to women and 
     girls and, in 2022, women earned the majority of doctoral, 
     master's, and associate degrees;
       Whereas in the 2020-2021 academic year, women earned 
     approximately 60 percent of the bachelor's degrees awarded by 
     institutions of higher education in the United States;
       Whereas since 1972, the participation of women and girls in 
     sports has increased by 1,057 percent in high school and 
     greater than 600 percent in college, providing women and 
     girls with the opportunity--
       (1) to develop leadership and teamwork skills;
       (2) to earn athletic scholarships to help finance a college 
     degree; and
       (3) to become successful professional athletes;
       Whereas despite the progress that has been made in higher 
     education and athletics, women, girls, pregnant or parenting 
     students, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, 
     intersex, and gender non-conforming (LGBTQI+) individuals in 
     the United States are still frequently denied equal 
     educational opportunities;
       Whereas pregnant and parenting students are more likely to 
     drop out of high school compared to other students, only 50 
     percent of teenage mothers earn a high school diploma by the 
     age of 22, 38 percent of Black teen mothers and 36 percent of 
     Latina teen mothers never obtain a diploma or GED, and fewer 
     than 2 percent of all teen mothers graduate college by age 
     30, leading to decreased opportunities for continuing 
     education and employment;
       Whereas a 2018 report from the Government Accountability 
     Office found that, compared to White girls, Black girls were 
     5 times more likely and American Indian and Alaskan Native 
     girls and multiracial girls were nearly 2 and a half times 
     more likely to receive an out-of-school-suspension;
       Whereas the number of baccalaureate degrees in science, 
     technology, engineering, and math earned by women has 
     decreased over the past decade and, as of the 2019-2020 
     academic year, women earn only--
       (1) 39.1 percent of physical science degrees;
       (2) 18.7 percent of computing degrees;
       (3) 20.9 percent of engineering degrees; and
       (4) 42.4 percent of mathematics degrees;
       Whereas despite representing 60 percent of all students 
     enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States, 
     women hold almost 2/3 of all outstanding student debt 
     ($929,000,000,000 of the total $1,762,000,000,000), and the 
     average amount of student debt owed by a woman following the 
     completion of a baccalaureate degree is $2,700 more than the 
     average amount of student debt owed by a man;
       Whereas men still hold the vast majority of leadership 
     positions, while women make up approximately--
       (1) 6.4 percent of the chief executive officers of 
     companies included in the S&P 500;
       (2) 18 percent of Governors;
       (3) 31 percent of executive officers elected in statewide 
     elections; and
       (4) 30 percent of college and university presidents;
       Whereas when data is disaggregated, women of color have 
     lower rates of--
       (1) leadership positions; and
       (2) science, technology, engineering, and math degrees;
       Whereas despite constituting a majority in their field or 
     industry, women remain underrepresented in leadership 
     positions and, for example, constitute--
       (1) 50 percent of law school graduates over the past 20 
     years, but only 31 percent of non-equity partners and 21 
     percent of equity partners at major law firms;
       (2) 76 percent of the health care workforce, but only 27 
     percent of the chief executive officers of hospitals; and
       (3) 44 percent of all National Collegiate Athletic 
     Association Division I, Division II, and Division III student 
     athletes, but only 14 percent of the athletic directors in 
     Division I sports;
       Whereas since the enactment of title IX in 1972, inequities 
     in participation opportunities for women and men NCAA 
     athletes have persisted, with women having 60,000 fewer 
     opportunities than men for the 2020-2021 school year;
       Whereas women continue to experience sexual harassment and 
     assault--
       (1) in elementary and secondary schools;
       (2) at colleges and universities; and
       (3) in the workplace;
       Whereas among individuals in elementary or secondary 
     school, 1 in 4 girls will experience some form of sexual 
     abuse before turning 18 years old, with more than 50 percent 
     of girls in grades 7 through 12 experiencing sexual 
     harassment;
       Whereas multiple studies have confirmed that--
       (1) 1 in 5 women and 1 in 4 transgender or gender non-
     conforming students are sexually assaulted on college 
     campuses; and
       (2) approximately 20 percent of girls have been the victims 
     of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault while in high 
     school;
       Whereas experiencing sexual harassment and discrimination 
     can--
       (1) lead to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and 
     suicidal ideation; and
       (2) have severe educational and financial consequences and 
     negatively impact academic achievement, including dropping 
     out of school; and
       Whereas students face pervasive discrimination and 
     harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender 
     identity in school, on college campuses, and in the 
     workplace, which impedes the ability of the students to fully 
     access the educational opportunities to which the students 
     are entitled: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) applauds the tremendous increase in educational 
     opportunities for women and girls, including in sports, since 
     the passage of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 
     (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
       (2) encourages the Department of Education and the 
     Department of Justice to protect the rights of students to 
     have safe learning environments by working to ensure schools 
     prevent and respond to discrimination and harassment on the 
     basis of sex, including based on--
       (A) pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, and 
     medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, and 
     termination of pregnancy;
       (B) actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender 
     identity, and sex characteristics;
       (C) sex stereotypes; and
       (D) sex-based harassment, including sexual harassment, 
     sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and sex-
     based stalking; and
       (3) recognizes the work that still remains to be done to 
     secure the rights and opportunities guaranteed by title IX of 
     the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) 
     that no federally funded educational institution shall 
     discriminate against any individual on the basis of sex.

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