The Green New Deal

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, it is my honor to be here with my fellow woman Senator from the State of Iowa. I enjoy learning more about Iowa and about the strength of Iowan women and in our Nation.

I join my colleague to highlight and celebrate not only the women leaders in the Senate but the millions of women throughout history and across the country who have made and continue to make a difference in their homes, in their communities, and in society in general.

I am very proud to represent the State of West Virginia--a State with a long and rich history of female trailblazers. It is a State that respects and celebrates those women. Maybe you have heard that phrase ``mountain mamas.'' Well, Mother's Day was actually originated in West Virginia by Grafton resident Anna Jarvis in 1908. President Woodrow Wilson made it an official national holiday in the year 1914, and it is an annual reminder today to cherish and thank one of the, if not the, most influential women in many people's lives--their mothers.

I miss my mother every day. I know my mother, who was the First Lady of West Virginia, was an incredible role model for me and an inspiration. Seeing all she did for our State and for our fellow West Virginians through her public service was a driving force throughout my life. Not only that, she was a great and loving mother, and as I said, I still miss her every day.

Another West Virginia woman who has been an incredible inspiration is Katherine Johnson. Katherine was born in White Sulpher Springs, WV, in 1918. In her being brilliant with numbers, she attended West Virginia State College and was later one of the first Black students to integrate West Virginia University's graduate school in 1939. That is pretty notable in and of itself, but Katherine didn't stop there.

In 1953, she took a job at NASA and began working as a human computer. She literally calculated how to get men into space. Remember, with the launch of the Soviets' satellite Sputnik in 1957, the space race was on. America needed a win, and Katherine Johnson played a major role in facilitating that win. Her work put John Glenn into space and into history. The success of that mission marked a turning point in the space race altogether, and it made a significant impact in the future of space travel and exploration. Some may better recognize Katherine's name from the movie ``Hidden Figures.''

I am proud to say that in tribute to Katherine and her incredible legacy at NASA, I introduced legislation to rename West Virginia's only NASA facility after her. President Trump signed that bill into law last year, and Fairmont, WV, is now the home of the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & Validation Facility. At 100 years young, Katherine still serves as a tremendous role model to me and to women everywhere.

Of course, all of our States are home to brilliant women. My home of West Virginia is home to numerous amazing women who have made significant contributions, and we are proud to claim them all.

I don't know if one remembers America's sweetheart of 1984, Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton, who is a native of West Virginia; Mother Jones, who is a champion of the working class and a labor organizer who campaigned for the United Mine Workers; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck; the host of the ``TODAY'' show, Hoda Kotb; actress and advocate Jennifer Garner; and Saira Blair. Many of you have never heard of Saira Blair. Several years ago, at the age of 18, she became the youngest person ever--male or female--to get elected to a State or Federal office. She served in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

These incredible women and so many others have helped to shape history and society, and they have paved the way for the next generation of leaders--girls and young women who might not yet have realized or achieved their full potential.

In 2015, I was sworn in as West Virginia's first female Senator. This distinction is a privilege for me, and it is an honor. It is certainly nothing I take lightly. I may well be the very first female Senator from West Virginia, but I am very confident that I will not be the last--certainly, not if I can help it.

So, shortly after I came to the Senate, I started an initiative called West Virginia Girls Rise Up because I want to inspire the next generation of leaders. Through that program, I visit fifth grade girls across the State. We talk about their dreams, what they can be when they grow up, and how they can be the best versions of themselves.

As a matter of fact, the Senator from Iowa mentioned the astronaut, Peggy Whitson. She was with me when I did two Girls Rise Up in West Virginia, and we talked about three different accomplishments that girls can do to reach their full potential--education, physical fitness, and self-confidence. I believe these are the building blocks for a successful future for whatever you want to do.

Then we set goals. Maybe it is reading more. Maybe it is eating healthier. Maybe it is raising your hand more in class. Most importantly, I challenged these girls to achieve these goals.

What I hope the girls get out of this is that you can reach a goal you set for yourself now--or at least really work hard to--and you can reach your next goal when you get older. Then you can reach your next goal and your next goal and your next goal, until you find yourself doing groundbreaking research in a lab, being a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, designing a skyscraper at an architectural firm, or working to make our country a better place from the floor of the U.S. Senate or, I will add, as President of the United States.

The possibilities are endless, but the common thread is this: Think about what it is you want, work hard to make your dreams a reality, and have confidence to never back down.

As I travel across West Virginia with my West Virginia Girls Rise Up Program, I am constantly amazed at the potential of the young women I see. I know the same is true in States across this country.

I hope those girls are watching us here in this Chamber today. I hope they are hearing the stories of the incredible women and trailblazers who have come before us. I hope they are thinking to themselves: That could be me one day.

I am incredibly proud to be a part of what female leaders are doing right now, but I am more incredibly optimistic to see what our future female leaders will do in the years ahead.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source