Jackie Speier: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, my friend, my colleague, my co-chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus. I rise…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, my friend, my colleague, my co-chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus. I rise tonight in honor of Women's History Month and the heroic, trailblazing women of our military, who have risked their lives for our country in the advancement of women's equity and equality. Women have been on the front lines fighting for America's values and freedom since the founding of our Nation. Our foremothers blazed a trail for women like Loretta Walsh, who, in 1917, as America teetered on the brink of entering World War I, heard and answered the call to serve. Loretta became the first woman to enlist in the U.S. military in a position other than nursing and was our first female chief petty officer. I also want to recognize Captain Kristen Griest and Lieutenant Shaye Haver, the first women to graduate from the Army Ranger School; Marcella Hayes, America's first Black female fighter pilot; and Mary Edward Walker, the first female U.S. Army surgeon who served in the Civil War and the only woman to receive the Presidential Medal of Honor. The strength and courage of these women and so many more like them reinforces what we already know: There is nothing women cannot do. When women are in positions of leadership, our country is in better hands. I believe that this is especially true in our military. I honor General Ann E.…”