[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3631-3632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           SUPPORTING THE GOALS OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 84, submitted earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 84) supporting the goals of 
     International Women's Day.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, on this International Women's Day, we 
celebrate the remarkable social, economic, and political achievements 
of women around the world, but we also take stock of the barriers that 
continue to prevent hundreds of millions of women from contributing 
their talents as equal members of the human family.
  As in years past, this year I am again joining with Senator Susan 
Collins in submitting a bipartisan resolution commemorating 
International Women's Day and highlighting its goal of advancing the 
equality and empowerment of women all across the globe. I especially 
appreciate Senator Collins' unwavering support in working with me on 
this resolution.
  It has been said that no nation can get ahead if it leaves half of 
its people behind, and in the 21st century, wherever women are 
respected and treated as equals, we excel, as the Presiding Officer 
knows, as legislators, as scientists, as entrepreneurs, artists, 
inventors, warriors, and in every other field. But the harsh reality 
remains that women make up some 51 percent of the world's population, 
yet we account for an estimated 70 percent of those living in poverty 
and two-thirds of those denied even a basic education.
  So on this International Women's Day, we celebrate women's 
achievements, and we rededicate ourselves to achieving an equal voice, 
equal participation, and equal rights for all women. We also 
acknowledge that we still have much difficult work ahead of us.
  Research tells us that women and girls' equality can be 
transformational for their communities and for entire countries, yet in 
some of the poorest parts of the world--and even in some wealthier 
countries--women and girls continue to be held back by injustices such 
as child marriage, sexual and domestic violence, denial of education, 
and lack of access to contraception and maternal healthcare.
  In recent years, we have learned more about the intersection of so 
many of these issues that affect women. When girls are forced into 
early marriage, when women are denied contraception and have children 
at a very young age, this typically ends any chance to gain an 
education and income-earning employment. This lack of economic 
influence means that women remain powerless within their families and, 
too often, within their communities. And this, in turn, can lead to 
violence against women and the denial of women's most basic human and 
civil rights.
  The good news is that this same interconnectedness can work to 
empower women and to lift up communities. When women and girls' rights 
are respected, when we have access to education and family planning 
services, this unleashes women's ability to participate equally in the 
community, in the workplace, and even in the political arena.
  Indeed, we can now quantify so many of the positive ripple effects. 
For example, each additional year of education increases a woman's 
income by 25 percent. We know that children born to educated mothers 
are twice as likely to survive past the age of 5. By mobilizing the 
talents of the previously neglected half of the population--in too many 
places--we create more stable societies and more rapid economic 
development.
  For decades, the United States has been a world leader in advancing 
and

[[Page 3632]]

protecting the rights of women and girls around the world, including 
their access to contraception and family planning. In particular, I 
want to applaud the excellent work of the State Department's Office of 
Global Women's Issues. I am sponsoring legislation in this session to 
give this office permanent authorization, with an ambassador leading 
it.
  However, on this International Women's Day, we must also acknowledge 
actions to abdicate America's leadership role in advancing women's 
rights. Indeed, both at home and abroad, the Trump administration has 
exhibited a dangerous obsession with rolling back women's reproductive 
rights. President Trump has promised to nominate Supreme Court Justices 
who will overturn Roe v. Wade. He has joined with some of the 
Republican leaders in Congress in pledging to terminate funding for 
Planned Parenthood.
  In one of his first official acts, the President signed an Executive 
order reinstating and expanding the Mexico City policy, also known as 
the global gag rule. This rule prohibits U.S. financial aid to many 
international organizations that offer contraception and comprehensive 
family planning services to women.
  As if the reinstatement of this policy weren't bad enough, the 
administration's Executive order dramatically expanded the policy to 
apply to all U.S.-funded global health programs--so not just family 
planning and counseling programs. But we believe that this expansion 
will include our HIV/AIDS program, known as PEPFAR, which has been so 
positive in saving so many lives in Africa. It was started by George W. 
Bush. We also think it will affect initiatives that fund the fights 
against the Ebola and Zika outbreaks, and this puts at risk 15 times 
more funding and millions more women and their families around the 
world.
  Taken together, all of these actions by the new administration I 
believe amount to an assault on the safety and well-being of women and 
girls across the globe.
  I have joined with Senator Susan Collins, Senator Lisa Murkowski, and 
45 other Senators in introducing bipartisan legislation to permanently 
repeal the global gag rule. I believe--and it is well documented--that 
this is a misguided policy that ignores decades of research.
  We shouldn't allow extreme ideology to triumph over the urgent 
practical needs of women across the world. The facts make clear that 
when family planning services are accessible and contraceptives are 
affordable, rates of unplanned pregnancies and abortions go down.
  According to the World Health Organization, there is an estimated 225 
million women in the world who would like access to family planning 
services, and we know that makes a difference. Here in the United 
States, the abortion rate has dropped to the lowest level since 1943, a 
success that is directly attributable to the reduced cost sharing for 
contraception under the Affordable Care Act. I can attest to that 
because in New Hampshire, we have one of the lowest incidences of teen 
pregnancy in the country.
  In January, we saw millions of women, men, and children, turn out for 
marches in Washington, New York, London, Nairobi, Tokyo, in my home 
capital of Concord, NH, and in dozens of other cities across the 
country and around the world. I think we can look at that as an early 
celebration of International Women's Day because what we heard from 
those marching was that we were marching in defense of the rights of 
American women, of Muslim women, of women of color, and of all women 
and girls across the globe.
  The world heard our message loudly and clearly. We will not allow our 
reproductive rights and our human rights to be taken away. We will not 
allow women to be targeted for discrimination. We will not be taken 
backward.
  That was our message in January, and it is our message on this 
International Women's Day. We have fought long and hard for equal 
rights and equal treatment here in the United States.
  We are also celebrating women here in the United States. We have many 
women who have taken the day off to recognize the role that women play 
that is so significant in our society, and many of us are also wearing 
red to demonstrate that. So on this day of celebration and solidarity, 
we are determined to go forward to build on the progress of recent 
decades, and we rededicate ourselves to achieving respect, equality, 
and justice for every woman in every community and every country across 
the globe.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed 
to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 84) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record under 
``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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