Patsy T. Mink: “I rise today together with my colleagues the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella], the gentlewoman from California…”

“I rise today together with my colleagues the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella], the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez], the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Woolsey] and the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Millender-McDonald] to offer this amendment which seeks to preserve existing programs serving the needs of girls and women in our vocational educational system. The bill in its current form represents a major setback for girls and women in our educational system. It eliminates important provisions of current law which target programs for displaced homemakers, single parents and pregnant women, and programs to ensure gender equity and train women for nontraditional careers. It eliminates the equity coordinator now required in every State to assist vocational education programs in meeting the needs of girls and women in these special categories, and eliminates a 10.5 percent set-aside which is required under current law. The amendment we offer today does not fully restore these provisions but assures that it will continue to receive the support at the current level. It maintains a vocational education equity coordinator and provides a hold-harmless for the displaced homemaker, single parent and gender equity programs at the fiscal year 1997 level.”