Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1696584923011.pdf (United States)
S1064 higher levels of equality are strongly cor- related with the relative state of peace of a country, a healthier domestic security envi- ronment, and lower levels of aggression to- ward other countries— (1) women around the world remain vastly CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE (2) to strive to eliminate gender-based vio- lence and mitigate its harmful effects on in- dividuals including through efforts to develop standards and ca- pacity to reduce gender-based violence in the workplace and other places where women work; communities, and underrepresented in— (A) national and local legislatures and governments; and (B) other high-level positions; and (2) according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women account for only 25.6 percent of national parliamentarians and 21 percent of government ministers; Whereas the ability of women and girls to realize their full potential is critical to the ability of a country to achieve strong and lasting economic growth, self-reliance, and political and social stability; Whereas, although the United Nations Mil- lennium Project reached the goal of achiev- ing gender parity in primary education in most countries in 2015, the COVID–19 global pandemic has set back gender equality in education and more work remains to be done to achieve gender equality in primary and secondary education, and particularly in sec- ondary education worldwide as gender gaps persist and widen, by addressing— (1) discriminatory practices; (2) harmful cultural and social norms; (3) inadequate sanitation facilities, includ- ing facilities to manage menstruation; (4) child, early, and forced marriage; (5) poverty; (6) early pregnancy and motherhood; (7) conflict and insecurity; and (8) other factors that favor boys or devalue girls’ education; Whereas, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi- zation— (1) approximately 132,000,000 girls between the ages of 6 and 17 remain out of school; (2) girls living in countries affected by con- flict are 2.5 times more likely to be out of
 primary school than boys; (3) girls are twice as likely as boys to never set foot in a classroom; and (4) up to 30 percent of girls who drop out of school do so because of adolescent pregnancy or child marriage; Whereas women around the world face a variety of constraints that severely limit their economic participation and produc- tivity and remain underrepresented in the labor force; Whereas the economic empowerment of women is inextricably linked to a myriad of other human rights that are essential to the ability of women to thrive as economic ac- tors, including— (1) living lives free of violence and exploi- tation; (2) achieving the highest possible standard of health and well-being; (3) enjoying full legal and human rights, such as access to registration, identification, and citizenship documents, and freedom of movement; (4) access to formal and informal edu- cation; (5) access to, and equal protection under, land and property rights; (6) access to fundamental labor rights; (7) the implementation of policies to ad- dress disproportionate care burdens; and (8) receiving business and management skills and leadership opportunities; Whereas, pursuant to section 3(b) of the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C.
2151– 2(b)), it is the international development co- operation policy of the United States— (1) to reduce gender disparities with re- spect to economic, social, political, edu- cational, and cultural resources, as well as wealth, opportunities, and services; (3) to support activities that secure private property rights and land tenure for women in developing countries, including— (A) supporting legal frameworks that give women equal rights to own, register, use, profit from, and inherit land and prop- erty; (B) improving legal literacy to enable women to exercise the rights described in subparagraph (A); and (C) improving the capacity of law en- forcement and community leaders to en- force such rights; (4) to increase the capability of women and girls to fully exercise their rights, determine their life outcomes, assume leadership roles, and influence decision making in households, communities, and societies; and (5) to improve the access of women and girls to education, particularly higher edu- cation opportunities in business, finance, and management, in order to enhance finan- cial literacy and business development, man- agement, and strategy skills; Whereas the Millennium Challenge Cor- poration (commonly referred to as the ‘‘MCC’’), an independent United States for- eign assistance agency, recognizes that in- equality and the exclusion of women from economic opportunities can inhibit efforts to promote economic growth and reduce pov- erty and decrease a country’s economic growth trajectory, which is why the gender policy of the MCC requires gender inequal- ities to be identified and considered in every stage of agreements with participating coun- tries; Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, global maternal mortality de- creased by approximately 44 percent between 1990 and 2015, yet approximately 830 women and girls continue to die from preventable causes relating to pregnancy or childbirth each day, and 99 percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries; Whereas, according to the
 United Nations, of the 830 women and adolescent girls who die every day from preventable causes relat- ing to pregnancy and childbirth, 507 die each day in countries that are considered fragile because of conflict or disaster, accounting for approximately 3⁄5 of all maternal deaths worldwide; Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that women and girls comprise approximately 1⁄2 of the 67,200,000 refugees and internally dis- placed or stateless individuals in the world; Whereas the initial days of the Russian in- vasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022, have resulted in a disproportionate number of women and children seeking safe- ty outside of Ukraine; Whereas those women and girls, like women and girls in all humanitarian emer- gencies, including those subject to forced displacement, face increased and exacerbated vulnerabilities to— (1) gender-based violence, including rape, child marriage, domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation and as- sault; (2) disruptions in education and livelihood; (3) lack of access to health services; and (4) food insecurity and malnutrition; Whereas malnutrition poses a variety of threats to women and girls specifically, as malnutrition can weaken their immune sys- tems, making them more susceptible to in- fections, and affects their capacity to sur- vive childbirth, and children born of mal- March 8, 2022 nourished women and girls are more likely to have cognitive impairments and higher risk of disease throughout their lives; Whereas it is imperative— (1) to alleviate violence and discrimination against women and girls; and (2) to afford women and girls every oppor- tunity to be equal members of their commu- nities; and Whereas March 8, 2022, is recognized as International Women’s Day, a global day— (1) to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women in the past, present, and future; and (2) to recognize the obstacles that women face in the
 struggle for equal rights and op- portunities: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— (1) supports the goals of International Women’s Day; (2) recognizes that the fundamental human rights of women and girls have intrinsic value that affect the quality of life of women and girls; (3) recognizes that the empowerment of women and girls is inextricably linked to the potential of a country to generate— (A) economic growth and self-reliance; (B) sustainable peace and democracy; and (C) inclusive security; (4) recognizes and honors individuals in the United States and around the world, includ- ing women human rights defenders, activ- ists, and civil society leaders, who have worked throughout history to ensure that women and girls are guaranteed equality and fundamental human rights; (5) recognizes the unique cultural, histor- ical, and religious differences throughout the world and urges the United States Govern- ment to act with respect and understanding toward legitimate differences when pro- moting any policies; (6) reaffirms the commitment— (A) to end discrimination and violence against women and girls; (B) to ensure the safety, health, and wel- fare of women and girls; (C) to pursue policies that guarantee the fundamental human rights of women and girls worldwide; and (D) to promote meaningful and significant participation of women in every aspect of so- ciety and community, including conflict pre- vention, protection, peacemaking, and peacebuilding; (7) supports sustainable, measurable, and global development that seeks to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and (8) encourages the people of the United States to observe International Women’s Day with appropriate programs and activi- ties.
f SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLU- TION 32—EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE RECOGNITION OF MARCH 10, 2022, AS ‘‘ABORTION PROVIDER APPRECIATION DAY’’ Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Mr. PETERS) submitted the following con- current resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions: S. CON.

RES.
32 Whereas March 10 has been established as a day to show appreciation for the essential, high-quality care that abortion providers and clinic staff provide to their communities and those traveling to their communities, and to celebrate their courage, compassion, and dedication to their work; Whereas this date is established in honor of Dr. David Gunn, who was killed outside March 8, 2022 his abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida, by a white supremacist, antiabortion extremist, in the first known instance of murder of an abortion provider on March 10, 1993; Whereas abortion providers and clinic staff play a critical role in a world where people must be able to make essential and time-sen- sitive decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures; Whereas abortion providers and clinic staff help to ensure that all people who can be- come pregnant can make their own decisions about their bodies and their pregnancies, and support their patients’ decisions by treating them with dignity, empathy, compassion, and respect; Whereas abortion providers and clinic staff play an essential role within the reproduc- tive justice framework, which was created by a group of Black women in 1994, who deter- mined the necessity of adopting a human rights framework that demands every person has the human right to bodily autonomy, which includes if, when, and how to have children, to not have children, and to parent the children they have in safe and sustain- able communities; Whereas people seeking abortion care across the United States also rely on the work of abortion funds and practical support organizations to access abortion care for themselves and their families; Whereas abortion funds and practical sup- port organizations that rely on donations face increasing demand as people are forced into the vicious cycle of having to travel longer
 distances, find childcare or lodging, and raise money to obtain an abortion and cover associated costs; Whereas restrictions on accessing abortion care have far-reaching consequences in both deepening existing inequities caused by structural racism and systemic discrimina- tion in the maternal health care system and worsening health outcomes for pregnant peo- ple, people giving birth, and their families; Whereas abortion care restrictions in some States have forced many abortion clinics to shut down, such that 90 percent of counties in the United States today do not have an abortion provider, the number of inde- pendent abortion clinics in the United States has declined by 1⁄3 since 2012, and efforts to undermine critical supports for patients, in- cluding family planning supports, have fur- ther threatened the work of abortion pro- viders; Whereas restricting access to abortion care creates and increases the out-of-pocket costs and logistical burdens that patients face to get care while exposing the remaining abor- tion providers and staff to increased levels of harassment and politically motivated re- strictions; Whereas the National Abortion Federa- tion’s 2020 statistics on violence and disrup- tion found an alarming escalation in inci- dents of obstruction, vandalism, and tres- passing at abortion clinics, with abortion providers reporting an increase in death threats and threats of harm from 92 inci- dents in 2019 to 200 in 2020; Whereas Black, indigenous, and other pro- viders and patients of color face heightened levels of threats, harassment, and violence as compared to their white counterparts; Whereas 2021 marked the worst year for abortion rights since Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), was decided, and the passage and enforcement of restrictions on abortion ac- cess and the criminalization of abortion has emboldened antiabortion individuals and groups to continue to harass providers and the patients they care for; Whereas the Supreme Court of the
 United States is now (as of the date of adoption of this resolution) considering Dobbs v. Jack- son Women’s Health Organization, 141 S.Ct.
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE 2619 (2021), a case that the justices could use to overturn or severely undermine Roe v. Wade, and at the same time has refused to block Texas’s blatantly unconstitutional ban on abortion at approximately 6 weeks of pregnancy, allowing Texas to ban the major- ity of abortions in the State; COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES S1065 The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing.
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES Whereas the ripple effects of Texas’s abor- tion ban have been felt by communities and abortion providers across the country as abortion clinics try to absorb the massive in- flux of Texas’s patients who have the re- sources to travel and are seeking abortion care elsewhere; Whereas, should the Supreme Court over- turn or severely undermine Roe v. Wade, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Geor- gia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Lou- isiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Mon- tana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Okla- homa, South Carolina, South Dakota, Ten- nessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wis- consin, and Wyoming could act as soon as possible to prohibit abortion and criminalize abortion providers; Whereas Roe v. Wade alone has never been sufficient to ensure that all people, espe- cially Black people, indigenous people, peo- ple of color, working class and low-income people, LGBTQIA+ people, people who are immigrants, younger people, people with dis- abilities, geographically isolated people, and people with multimarginal identities, can get the abortion care they need; Whereas the unraveling or overturning of Roe v. Wade threatens the ability of abortion providers and the clinic staff who support them to serve their patients; and Whereas in the face of multifaceted at- tacks on their work, abortion providers re- main an essential and valued part of their communities, providing high-quality, com- passionate, and necessary health care, and courageously delivering this care despite pressures, inter- ference, and violent threats to their personal safety: Now, therefore, be it restrictions, political Resolved by the Senate (the House of Rep- resentatives concurring), That Congress— (1) recognizes March 10, 2022, as ‘‘Abortion Provider Appreciation Day’’ to celebrate the courage, compassion, and high-quality care that abortion providers and clinic staff offer to patients and their families across the country; (2) lauds communities across the country who are proud to be home to abortion pro- viders and clinic staff; (3) affirms Congress’s commitment to en- suring the safety of abortion providers, their ability to continue providing the essential care their patients need, and the right of their patients to access abortion care no matter where they live, free from fear of vio- lence, criminalization, or stigma; and (4) declares a vision for a future where ac- cess to abortion is liberated from restric- tions and bans universally, and affirms Congress’s commitment to working toward this goal in partnership with providers, pa- tients, advocates, and their communities.
f AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET Mr. CASEY.

Mr. President, I have nine requests for committees to meet during today’s session of the Senate.

They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.
Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Sen- ate, the following committees are au- thorized to meet during today’s session of the Senate: The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.
COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES The Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 10 a.m., to conduct a business meeting.
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the ses- sion of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, to conduct a business meeting.

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the ses- sion of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, to conduct a hearing.
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is authorized to meet during the ses- sion of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 10 a.m., to conduct a joint hearing.
SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE The Select Committee on Intel- ligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 2 p.m., to conduct a closed business meeting.

f DIRECTING THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL TO OBTAIN AND PLACE A MEMORIAL PLAQUE FOR UNITED STATES CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER WILLIAM F. EVANS AT THE NORTH SECU- RITY KIOSK OF THE CAPITOL Mr. CASEY.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consider- ation of S. Res.
539, which was sub- mitted earlier today.

The PRESIDING OFFICER.

The clerk will report the resolution by title.

The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A resolution (S. Res.

539) directing the Ar- chitect of the Capitol to obtain and place a memorial plaque for United States Capitol Police Officer William F. Evans at the north security kiosk of the Capitol.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
r