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VOICE ONE:
Many years ago, a popular saying in America was, “A woman’s placeis in the home.” But today, many people believe a woman’s place isin the United States House of Representatives and Senate. I’m MaryTillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Women in Congress is our report today on theVOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
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VOICE ONE:
More than half the people of voting age in the United States arefemale. But only fourteen percent of lawmakers in the currentone-hundred-eighth Congress are women. There are one-hundred UnitedStates senators. Fourteen of them are women. There arefour-hundred-thirty-five member of the House of Representatives.Fifty-nine women serve as voting members in the House.
Still, political experts say these women are gaining power andinfluence. The Congressional Quarterly publication recently toldabout twenty-six female members of Congress. The publication toldabout their lives and how they voted on important issues during thelast Congress.
VOICE TWO:
Several women have important positions of power in the currentCongress. Representative Nancy Pelosi is a Democrat from the stateof California. She is the first woman ever to serve as minorityleader in the House of Representatives. This is the highestCongressional leadership position ever held by a woman.
California voters first elected Mizz Pelosi to the House ofRepresentatives in nineteen-eighty-seven. In the last Congress, shewas the top Democrat on the House Select Intelligence committee.
VOICE ONE:
Republican Deborah Pryce of the state of Ohio leads the House ofRepresentatives Republican Conference. The job of conferencechairman is the fourth most important in the Republican Party. MizzPryce is the first female to hold such an important job in aboutthirty years. The conference plans communications for Republicans inthe House.Among United States senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison ofTexas is vice chairman of the Republican Party Caucus. The caucusplans communications for Senate Republicans. Barbara Mikulski ofMaryland is secretary of the Senate Democratic Party caucus.
Other women in Congress are leaders of House and Senatecommittees or subcommitees. Only two women have led standing Senatecommittees in the past. But this year, two Republican women fromMaine have these responsibilities. Senator Susan Collins leads theGovernmental Affairs Committee. Senator Olympia J. Snowe heads theSmall Business Committee.
VOICE TWO:
All but five American states have elected women to Congress. Inthe current Congress, voters in three states have elected women toboth seats in the Senate. Both Republican Senators from Maine arewomen. Washington state has elected two Democratic women to theSenate. They are Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. The two DemocraticSenators from California also are women. They are Barbara Boxer andDianne Feinstein. (FINE-stine)
Two other women from California made history when they wereelected to the House of Representatives in November. DemocratsLoretta Sanchez and her sister Linda are the first sisters electedto serve in Congress at the same time.
VOICE ONE:
The women in Congress hold widely different opinions aboutissues. Some are liberal or moderate. Others are conservative. Butthey are similar in one way. Their work in Congress is generally notlimited to traditional women’s issues like education and healthcare. For example, Senator Hutchison is known for her work onAmerica’s defense and foreign policies. So is RepublicanRepresentative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.
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VOICE TWO:
It has not been easy for women to gain recognition aslegislators. Representative Marcy Kaptur of Ohio has served thelongest of any Democratic woman in the House of Representatives.Mizz Kaptur has written a book about women in Congress.Historically, few women have served in Congress. Over the years,only thirty-three women have been elected to the Senate.One-hundred-eighty-nine women have served in the House.
For years, many Americans disapproved of women who spoke inpublic about disputed issues. Many women who were mothers alsolimited themselves. For example, Mizz Kaptur says most women did notcompete for Congressional office until their children were grown.This has kept many of them from gaining years of service inCongress. Legislators with seniority can lead committees. This meansthey command great power in the legislative process.
VOICE ONE:
Still, women have played an important part among America’slawmakers. Montana became the first state to elect a woman toCongress in nineteen-sixteen. Jeannette Rankin, a Republican, servedone term in the House of Representatives. Many years later, innineteen-forty, Montana voters again sent Mizz Rankin to the House.
She earned both praise and blame for her opposition to war.Jeannette Rankin voted against the United States entering both theFirst World War and the Second World War. She was the onlylegislator to oppose each war.
A Republican Congresswoman from Ohio took the opposite positionon war. Representative Frances Bolton served in the House ofRepresentatives from nineteen-forty to nineteen-sixty-nine. MizzBolton urged equal rights for women. One of these was the right toserve in the military.
VOICE TWO:
Margaret Chase Smith is another Republican legislator whosupported an unpopular position. She was the only woman ever electedto both the House of Representatives and the Senate. She served inthe Senate from nineteen-forty-nine to nineteen-seventy-three.Innineteen-fifty, Mizz Smith made an important speech in the Senate.She severely criticized Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.Senator McCarthy had made false charges against a number of publicand military officials and entertainers. He falsely accused them ofbeing Communists or sympathizing with Communists.
In nineteen-sixty-four, Margaret Chase Smith competed for theRepublican party’s nomination for president. She became the firstwoman ever to campaign for president in a major political party.
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VOICE ONE:
Many people believe women now serving in the Senate may competeto become the country’s first female president. Some people say itwill be Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Democratic senator fromNew York was elected in two-thousand. She is the wife of formerPresident Bill Clinton. During the nineteen-nineties, Mizz Clintonproposed a plan to improve health care in the United States.Congress never voted on the plan. But her efforts helped establishHillary Clinton as a serious politician.
VOICE TWO:
Republican Elizabeth Hanford Dole was elected to the Senate fromNorth Carolina last November. Mizz Dole served in theadministrations of six presidents over the years. She served as aCabinet member two times. She also headed the American Red Cross foreight years. Her husband is former Senate Majority Leader RobertDole.
Mizz Dole unsuccessfully competed for the Republican presidentialnomination for the two-thousand election. When she withdrew fromcompetition, she spoke of the difficulty of raising money for hercampaign. Political experts said many people who might have givenmoney to Missus Dole did not help her. They feared she could notpossibly win because she is a woman.
VOICE ONE:
Senator Barbara Mikulski has served the longest of any woman inthe Senate. She was first elected in nineteen-eighty-six. She hashelped other women in Congress. Senator Mikulski believes womenrepresentatives and senators need all the help they can get.
Former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm would agree. Innineteen-seventy-two, she became the first African American woman tocompete for the Democratic presidential nomination. She says twofacts reduced her effectiveness as a legislator. One was that she isan African American. The other was that she is a woman. Of the two,Mizz Chisholm says the most important limitation was being a woman.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced byCynthia Kirk. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram, THIS IS AMERICA.