[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4474-4475]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING WOMEN'S RIGHTS LEADER ELLIE SMEAL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 28, 2012

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I honor Ellie 
Smeal, a true global leader for women and a national treasure on the 
Feminist Majority Foundation's 25th Anniversary. Since its founding in 
1987, with Ellie's leadership, the Feminist Majority Foundation has 
advanced the legal, social and political equality of women, challenged 
the hostility that women's advancement faces, and recruited and trained 
countless young feminists to foster future leadership of the feminist 
movement.
  The Feminist Majority Foundation received its name after a Newsweek/
Gallup public opinion poll revealed that the majority of women in the 
United States self-identified as feminists. With the belief that 
feminist men and women are the majority, the organization has been on 
the forefront of the women's movement, championing women's equality, 
reproductive health, and non-violence. The Feminist Majority Foundation 
has achieved many triumphs that benefit women in the United States at 
the local, state and federal level and abroad: ballot initiatives to 
repeal state-wide abortion bans, recruiting an unprecedented number of 
women to run for elected office, resulting in 1992 being the Year of 
the Woman, and amending the 1991 Civil Rights Act to award monetary 
damages to women who win sexual harassment lawsuits in court. The 
Feminist Majority Foundation is the sole publisher of Ms., a feminist 
publication dedicated to covering issues impacting women around the 
world.
  For more than two decades, Ellie Smeal, the President and Founder of 
the Feminist Majority Foundation, has fought for equality for women. 
She has held pivotal roles in nationwide and state efforts to achieve 
women's rights legislation and key court cases to advance women's 
rights. A gifted strategist and organizer, Ellie was the first to 
identify and highlight the ``gender gap'' and the differences in the 
ways men and women vote.
  While President of the National Organization for Women, Ellie led the 
fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment through the largest 
grassroots effort in the modern women's rights movement. She continues 
to work tirelessly towards ensuring that men and women are granted 
equal rights by the United States Constitution. Last week, we 
celebrated the 40th anniversary of Congress's passage of the ERA and 
Ellie was front and center, staunchly affirming the need for the ERA.
  A tireless advocate of women's reproductive rights, she developed a 
program to train clinic defenders in nonviolent clinic defense and 
fought a 12 year battle to allow American women access to mifepristone. 
Her organizing abilities have brought together all segments of

[[Page 4475]]

the women's movement, including young feminist leaders. Ellie has been 
critical in recruiting the next generation of female leaders through 
her creation of the Choices Campus Leadership Program, which has 
produced nationwide campus based feminist groups.
  Under Ellie, the Feminist Majority has focused on increasing the 
ranks of feminists running for office and has achieved numerous key 
legislative victories for women: the Violence Against Women Act, 
Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Civil Rights Restoration Act and many 
state and federal campaigns. Through her global advocacy, Ellie and the 
Feminist Majority called worldwide attention to the Taliban's treatment 
of women and prevented the United States and the United Nations from 
officially recognizing the Taliban government.
  Having worked with Ellie on the ERA and so many other initiatives, I 
can personally attest that there is no one more determined and 
dedicated to advancing women's equality than Ellie Smeal. In Ellie, the 
women's movement has a tireless advocate and through her leadership of 
the Feminist Majority, women are closer to achieving political, social 
and economic equality. We are all fortunate to have witnessed and 
benefitted from Ellie's passionate commitment and determination. I am 
proud to have worked with Ellie and to call her my dear friend. In 
appreciation for her all she has accomplished, I am proud to 
congratulate her on the 25th Anniversary of the Feminist Majority 
Foundation and look forward to continuing our work to achieve equality 
for women.

                          ____________________