The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“SUPPORTING THE GOALS OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S1695-S1696 on March 8, 2017.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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 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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