Louise Slaughter: “I rise again to congratulate the University of Portland's Women's Soccer Team and to voice my concern about changing the…”

“I rise again to congratulate the University of Portland's Women's Soccer Team and to voice my concern about changing the regulations of Title IX. I come from an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' school, and Title IX sure ain't broke. Let me say something about if we just educate women. We are very much concerned about the health of young people in the United States and the sedentary lives that they live. It certainly would make a lot of difference if we give all women the opportunity to develop themselves athletically so they can pass that on to their children. Remember, if we want to have all those boys for the Georgia football games, we sure better have mothers who know how to bring them up right. Senator Birch Bayh sponsored Title IX in 1972 because women in the United States were not getting an equal chance to participate in athletics and other educational opportunities. And since Title IX was enacted, both women's and men's participation in athletics has increased. But equality of opportunity still does not exist for our girls. On an average, men participate at higher rates than women and they get 35 percent more scholarship dollars than women, and their total operating budgets are always double, at least, those of women's sports. And yet the critics of Title IX argue that the male athletes are suffering because of Title IX. Mr. Speaker, Title IX ain't broke, but I will tell you what is.…”