Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of this measure.

Again, let me first thank our chairman, Ed Royce, for helping to advance this bill. I thank the bill's authors: Representative Noem and Representative Schakowsky. Representative Schakowsky, especially, has been focusing for years on the vulnerabilities that face women and girls in conflicts and on the unique role in which women can play in working to build peace. Ms. Schakowsky has been spending a great deal of her time in representing issues such as the one in this bill. In fact, she was the first one who told me about the bill and what they were doing in terms of putting it together; so I really want to commend her.

It has been nearly 5 years, Mr. Speaker, since the Obama administration unveiled the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. The idea at the center of the strategy is the importance of women in their helping to prevent and resolve conflicts. Thanks to the administration's efforts, the U.S. has worked to include women in conflict prevention, negotiation, and resolution. We have promoted efforts to enhance the physical and economic security of women around the world, and we have sought to break through the barriers that have stopped women from being full participants in peace processes. We haven't taken these steps on a hunch. Research has shown that peace negotiations are more likely to succeed when women have influential positions in the negotiation process.

The bill we are considering would make these policies permanent. It would build on what the Obama administration has accomplished by making sure State Department, USAID, and Pentagon personnel are fully trained on the unique strengths that women bring to conflict prevention and resolution. It would also require annual reporting so that Congress can stay apprised of these efforts. I think making this strategy permanent is absolutely imperative. After all, even though the administration and bipartisan leadership in Congress have seen the value of this approach, we have no idea how future administrations and Presidents and Congresses will view women or if they will fully appreciate how women's participation can make our foreign policies stronger.

I am pleased to support this measure, and I urge all of my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Once again, I thank Chairman Ed Royce as well as Representatives Noem and Schakowsky for their hard work. This is truly bipartisan and is very good for the country.

This is one of these issues that wouldn't have occurred to many people a generation ago or even a decade ago, but thanks to hard work, research, and innovative thinking, we now know how critical it is that women have a seat at the table when we are working to prevent and resolve conflicts. This bill will help ensure that our foreign policy stays on the cutting edge.

I hope, in the future, we will continue to do the hard work that is needed to drive new ideas in foreign policy and to understand the complexities and sensitivities of our interconnected, global landscape.

This isn't kid stuff, and we shouldn't treat it lightly; so I am grateful for the commitment of my colleagues that has helped move this bill forward. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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