[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5568-5569]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 96--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT HARRIETT 
       WOODS WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A PIONEER IN WOMEN'S POLITICS

  Mrs. McCASKILL (for herself, Mr. Bond, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. 
Stabenow, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. 
Lincoln, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Levin, Mr. Dodd Mr. Obama, 
and Mr. Harkin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                               S. Res. 96

       Whereas Harriett Woods, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, 
     launched a 50-year political career with a neighborhood 
     crusade against rattling potholes;
       Whereas Harriett Woods, who died of leukemia at the age of 
     79 on February 8, 2007, had many firsts, including being the 
     first female editor for her college newspaper at the 
     University of Michigan, the first woman on the Missouri 
     Transportation Commission, and the first woman to win 
     statewide office in the State of Missouri as Lieutenant 
     Governor;
       Whereas, from 1991 to 1995, Harriett Woods served as 
     president of the National Women's Political Caucus, a 
     bipartisan grassroots organization whose mission is to 
     increase women's participation in the political process at 
     all levels of government; and
       Whereas Harriett Woods was integral to the electoral 
     successes of what became known as the Year of the Woman, when 
     in 1992, female candidates won 19 seats in the House of 
     Representatives and 3 seats in the Senate: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that Harriett 
     Woods will be remembered as a pioneer in women's politics, 
     whose actions

[[Page 5569]]

     and leadership inspired hundreds of women nationwide to 
     participate in the political process and to break gender 
     barriers at every level of government.

  Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, today I am proud to submit as my first 
piece of legislation as a United States Senator, a resolution to honor 
the memory of a great woman and a great leader--Harriett Woods.
  It is also a privilege to submit this resolution with Senators Bond, 
Mikulski, Clinton, Cantwell, Murray, Stabenow, Lincoln, Boxer, 
Feinstein, Klobuchar, Bingaman, Levin, Obama, Harkin, and Dodd. 
  Harriett, who died last month at the age of 79 from leukemia, had 
many firsts in her rich life: she was the first female editor of her 
college newspaper at the University of Michigan. She was the first 
woman on the Missouri Transportation Commission and she was the first 
woman to win statewide office in the State of Missouri when she was 
elected Lieutenant Governor.
  But Harriett's career in public service only tells part of the story. 
Harriett was a born leader and she used it to inspire hundreds of women 
across the country to get involved at all levels of government. For 5 
years, she served as president of the National Women's Political 
Caucus, a bipartisan grassroots organization whose mission is to 
increase women's participation in the political process.
  Her struggle to win a U.S. Senate seat in 1982 against Senator John 
Danforth was the inspiration to the founders of Emily's List, which is 
dedicated to recruiting and funding viable women candidates. Many 
thought that Harriett could have won that race, which she lost by a 
scant 27,247 votes, had she not run out of money.
  Harriett was also integral to what became known as the Year of the 
Woman, when in 1992, female candidates won nineteen seats in the United 
States House of Representatives and three seats in the United States 
Senate.
  Harriett realized 25 years ago, before most women even considered the 
notion, that there was only one way women were going to take their seat 
at the table of political power in our great Nation: by daring to fail, 
by embracing breathtaking risk, and by standing up to the bouncer at 
the door of the back room filled with the good old boys who ran for 
office. When that bouncer told Harriett that she could not come in, she 
said, just watch me.
  And when that same bouncer tried to kick her out of the room, she 
said just try it. And after she was comfortable in that room, she 
didn't sit down. She went out and found other women and led them to 
that room by pure unadulterated leadership.
  Harriett wrote a wonderful book about her life as a national 
political leader. She closed the book with the following:

       Somewhere, at this very moment, in some neighborhood in 
     America, a woman very like my younger self is confronting a 
     problem that affects her life, and family. Perhaps it's the 
     need for a playground for her children; maybe it's a threat 
     to clean water from rural animal waste. She has spoken up, 
     but no one is willing to take action. She's never been a 
     public person, and famous woman senators seem a world away. 
     Still, she cares deeply about finding a solution. After 
     agonizing thought, she makes a crucial decision. She will 
     step up to power, and another woman leader will be born.

  Many of the women who hold or have held public office, including 
myself, have Harriett Woods to thank for leading the way. So thank you, 
Harriett. Thank you on behalf of all the women who will follow you, all 
the women who will stand on your shoulders.

                          ____________________