[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16396]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      WOMEN'S SUFFRAGISTS MOVEMENT

  (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the 157th 
anniversary of the first women's suffragists movement.
  Western New York is often said to be the cradle of the women's rights 
movement, and I am privileged to represent the area where one prominent 
suffragette, Susan B. Anthony, of Rochester, fought so hard for the 
rights that women today enjoy.
  Susan B. Anthony formed the Equal Rights Association, refuted ideas 
that women were inferior to men, and fought for a woman's right to 
vote. She also campaigned for the rights of women to own property, to 
keep their own earnings, and have custody of their children.
  In 1900, she persuaded the University of Rochester to admit their 
first women students. Through persistent dedication, Susan B. Anthony, 
and other remarkable leaders, women were finally granted the right to 
vote in 1920. Since then, we have made progress, but still have a long 
way to go. We face the gender gap. And whether it is equal pay, health 
care, Social Security, or family leave, this Congress has refused to 
address issues critical to hard-working American women.
  The suffragist movement had to overcome the rhetoric and the empty 
promises of Members of this House 85 years ago. Commitment to concrete 
policies, not grandiose words, honors the battle they fought so hard 
and won.

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