Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 321, the INSPIRE Women Act. This bill calls on the NASA administrator to support initiatives that encourage girls and young women to study STEM fields and pursue careers in aerospace. Unfortunately, women are woefully underrepresented in many STEM fields, including aeronautics and aerospace. One of the key barriers to women entering technical fields is self-selection out of STEM degrees due to a lack of role models. In the words of longtime children's advocate and activist, Marian Wright Edelman: ``You can't be what you can't see.'' Too many girls and young women decide not to pursue studies in technical fields such as science, engineering, and aerospace because they look at their teachers and their role models and they see no one who looks like them. When students are able to visualize themselves working in technical fields, they gain the confidence they need to take the first step in pursuit of a challenging and rewarding STEM career, to their benefit and to the benefit of society as a whole. NASA, with its extraordinary STEM workforce, is in a unique position to help close this gap. The agency has access to a diverse group of current and retired women astronauts, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and innovators whose accomplishments and career paths are just the sort of inspiration that girls and young women need.…”