H2636 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 4, 2017 funding for communities across Amer- 588 healthcare clinics that prioritize very country they were working to de- ica with backlogged infrastructure women’s health and wellness. That is fend. The women were forced to run projects that create jobs and produce 49 healthcare clinics for every 1 their own mess halls, hair salon, re- robust economic benefits. Everyone Planned Parenthood health center. So freshment bar, and other facilities be- agrees on that. instead of driving 100 miles or more to cause of segregationist Department of He has also called for a nearly $3 bil- a Planned Parenthood in Missouri, Defense policies. lion draconian reduction to foreign op- women can receive the quality care Yet despite the harsh conditions of erations endangering our national se- they need within their own commu- war and unequal treatment, the women curity. We are the leader of the free nities. of the 6888th Battalion cleared a 6- world the last time I looked, and, Last Congress, I voted to increase month backlog of mail in just 3 months meanwhile, he and his family spend funding to those very clinics by hun- while posted in Britain. In France, millions of American taxpayer dollars dreds of millions of dollars. Congress they cleared a 3-year mail backlog in on travel and security costs for them- has a sincere duty to not only defund just 6 months. Thanks to their tireless selves. big abortion but to radically change efforts, United States soldiers were fi- With an investigation into President the conversation around life issues. nally able to receive lost letters from Trump’s possible entanglements with Members of Congress and this admin- loved ones during the war. Putin’s Russia already underway, and istration understand that life is beau- The courage exhibited by the 6888th members of the President’s family and tiful, that children are a blessing, that proved once again that senseless acts administration engaging in increas- abortion is not healthcare. It kills chil- of cruelty are no match for the will and ingly brazen conflicts of interest, this dren, and it hurts women. determination of African-American Congress should pass legislation to pre- Rest assured that our work to pro- women. vent these increasingly apparent con- tect life, all life, has only just begun. But in July 1945, tragedy struck Pri- flicts of interest from endangering our f vate First Class Mary J. Barlow, Pri- Nation and the American people. It is vate First Class Mary H. Bankston, and only a matter of time before his con- HONORING SACRIFICES OF AFRI- Sergeant Dolores M. Browne, who lost flicts of interest harm our country. CAN-AMERICAN WOMEN DURING their lives in a Jeep accident. Recog- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Mem- WORLD WAR II nizing their fellow comrades’ sac- bers are reminded to refrain from en- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The rifices, the women of the 6888th pooled gaging in personalities toward the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from their personal resources to properly President. California (Ms. LEE) for 5 minutes. bury these women. These women who f Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, each year dur- tragically lost their lives while serving ing Women’s History Month, we pause in Europe are buried at the Normandy PLANNED PARENTHOOD V. to commemorate the contributions American Cemetery, which I was privi- WOMEN’S HEALTH CLINICS women have made to this country, but leged to visit a couple of years ago. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The we should really commemorate women Their contributions and sacrifices de- Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from every day. So I am here today in April serve to be celebrated. These Black Missouri (Mrs. WAGNER) for 5 minutes. to amplify the contributions of women women proudly sacrificed their lives Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise of color, particularly African-American for a country that did not value them today in honor of life and in respect for women. Far too often, the blood, sweat, due to racial discrimination and big- the conscience rights of all citizens of and tears sown by women of color goes otry. So it is with great pride that I this free Nation. unrecognized. So many are truly hid- speak their names today, hoping that I was proud to preside over the floor den figures. more people will come to acknowledge of the U.S. House of Representatives a Mr. Speaker, this morning, I want to their sacrifice and the sacrifices of few short weeks ago as we voted in honor the sacrifices African-American their fellow sisters during World War favor of No Taxpayer Funding for women made for this country during II. Abortion Act to strike down an Obama World War II. Sadly, to this day, their I want to thank our Military Con- administration policy that forces sacrifices have gone unacknowledged, struction, Veteran Affairs Appropria- Americans to fund abortion providers. and as the daughter of a World War II tions Chair Congressman CHARLIE We also passed H.J. Res. 43, which is veteran and a Korean veteran, I am DENT, then-Ranking Member SANFORD another step closer to restoring the honored to shed light on a few of the BISHOP, as well as our full committee rights of States to decide how to dis- tremendous contributions of African- Chair ROGERS and Ranking Member tribute title X funding for women’s American women during World War II. LOWEY for their support in the Appro- health care. The measures ensure that I want to rise to highlight the coura- priations Committee to help us un- States are not forced to fund abortion geous efforts of more than 800 African- cover this great history, and also the providers like Planned Parenthood. American women from the 6888th Cen- American Battle Monuments Commis- Based on its own annual report, tral Postal Directory Battalion, which sion. Planned Parenthood performs the most was the first all-women, all-Black unit These great sheroes need to be abortions in the United States. It com- deployed in World War II. brought to the attention of the Amer- mits more than 320,000 abortions every The 6888th, its nickname ‘‘Six Triple ican people so that they can properly year, 887 each day. Mr. Speaker, that is Eight’’, was an all-women, all-Black be recognized for their sacrifices and one abortion every 97 seconds. Three unit that helped boost morale among their legacies. unborn children’s lives will be taken by Allied troops by working through It is my hope that the United States Planned Parenthood as I stand here major mail backlogs in Europe during will no longer be shy about recognizing this morning. World War II. the value, accomplishments, and sac- Recently, Planned Parenthood has rifices of Black women in history. I am begun attacking me as a supposed b 1030 hopeful that we will come to know the enemy of women’s health care. Nothing To sort through the major backlog of many nameless sheroes of the Black could be further from the truth. All mail in Europe, the women were di- community. These hidden figures have Missourians deserve quality health vided into three subunits that allowed fought many battles, have sacrificed so care, which is one reason I oppose tax- them to run the postal service 24 hours much, and have paved the way for payer funding of Planned Parenthood. a day, 7 days a week, processing 65,000 Black women to move forward in spite This organization does not provide gen- pieces of mail per 8-hour shift. of the barriers which we are still trying eral women’s health or mammogram The battalion endured the harsh win- to break. screenings. That is a fallacy. ter of Europe, dimly lit rooms, and rat- On today, Equal Pay Day, I am re- In the State of Missouri, there are 12 infested headquarters to carry out minded that African-American women Planned Parenthood facilities scat- their mission. Adding insult to injury, earn 63 cents on the dollar. We are still tered across our 114 counties. However, these courageous women also faced seg- at the bottom of the economic ladder. Mr. Speaker, we are grateful to have regation and discrimination from the I urge my colleagues to fight for pay

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Afri- Depression to countless world events A TRIBUTE FOR ROBERT ‘‘BOB’’ can-American women working full- over the past century. RAWLINGS time, year-round, on average still only When she was born, women didn’t The SPEAKER pro tempore. The earn 63 cents for every dollar earned by have the right to vote in America; but Chair recognizes the gentleman from White, non-Hispanic men. even well past turning 100 years old, Colorado (Mr. TIPTON) for 5 minutes. In my own district, in Brooklyn, men she was voting in local elections, even Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, today I earn $49,691, while women earn only for President of the United States. She rise to honor the life of Robert ‘‘Bob’’ $42,487. Mr. Speaker, that is just not saw a lot of Presidents come and go— Rawlings of Pueblo, Colorado. Bob acceptable. 19, as a matter of fact. passed away at the age of 92, on March On Equal Pay Day 2017, we are call- She saw America progress from a 24, 2017. ing upon Congressional Republicans to country really still recovering from the Born in 1924, Bob graduated from work with Democrats in getting the deep wounds of our Civil War to the Bent High School in 1942. He imme- long overdue Paycheck Fairness Act world’s most indispensable, vital, and diately pursued a college education at enacted into law. vibrant nation. She saw us defeat Hit- Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Pay inequity not only affects women, ler in Nazi Germany. She saw us bring but, ultimately, he decided to enlist in it affects children and families and our freedom and peace around the globe to the Navy that same year. national economy as a whole. That is men, women, and children who had Bob received a commission from the because so many women in our country never experienced it before. University of Colorado Boulder in 1943 are the sole or co-bread winner in two- She was born less than 10 years after and served honorably as the executive thirds of families with children. Fami- Orville and Wilbur Wright took off on officer of subchaser 648 in the Pacific lies increasingly rely on women’s their first flight at Kitty Hawk, and campaign of World War II. Bob was wages to help make ends meet, and yet she would watch Neil Armstrong part of an effort to liberate over 100 with less take-home pay, women have set foot on the Moon while she was just British and Dutch prisoners of war dur- less for the everyday needs of their in her fifties. But as the world changed ing his time in service. families: groceries, mortgages, rent, around her, she quietly lived her entire After receiving an honorable dis- life near Yoder, Kansas, where she child care, and doctor visits. charge from the Navy in 1946, Bob re- raised her children on the same farm turned to school at Colorado College President Barack Obama signed sev- eral orders to address gaps in Federal that I grew up on. and earned his bachelor’s degree in eco- She worked tirelessly on that farm, equal pay protections, protecting seg- nomics in 1947. Bob took a job as a re- milking cows at dawn and bringing in ments of the civilian workforce from porter at the Pueblo Chieftain, the the Kansas wheat harvest in the hot place he would work for the next seven pay discrimination, despite congres- sun. She didn’t ask for much: food on decades, ultimately climbing the lad- sional gridlock. Rather than working the table, a roof over her head, and a der to serve as chairman and as editor with Democrats to promote equal pay, better life for her children and grand- of the paper. House Republicans have voted nine children. Bob always championed his home- times since 2013 to block the Paycheck Mr. Speaker, we like to call them the town and used his career with the Fairness Act from being considered on Greatest Generation. She was a living Chieftain as a platform to advocate his the House floor. embodiment of the values that help passion for Pueblo and for the sur- So let’s see whether Donald Trump, make America the greatest country in rounding region. A vocal supporter of who claims he respects women more the world. She was guided every day by protecting Pueblo’s resources, Bob than anyone else, demonstrates her faith in God, and she was truly spent 70 years delivering news to the through his deeds in real and sub- blessed with more than a century of people of southern Colorado. His char- stantive plans to do more to help work- good health and good spirits in return. acter and his life’s work represent the ing women and their families. She loved her family and deeply be- very best of Pueblo and the entire Mr. Trump, it is time to put the lieved in hard work and self-determina- State of Colorado. money where your mouth is. tion. Mr. Speaker, Bob Rawlings served his f She and her husband, Orie, were mar- community as a philanthropist, a jour- THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF EDNA ried for 49 years, and together they nalist, a sailor, and as a family man. YODER raised their four children and nine Although Bob referred to himself as grandchildren, and they even watched the world’s worst golfer, Bob will be re- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The one of them make it all the way from membered by so many in his hometown Chair recognizes the gentleman from that farm in Yoder, Kansas, to the as one of its best citizens. Kansas (Mr. YODER) for 5 minutes. United States House of Representatives While I am saddened by his death, I Mr. YODER. Mr. Speaker, I rise here in Washington, D.C. Family al- am honored to have known Bob. His today with a heavy heart to honor the ways came first for her. presence will be missed by so many, life and legacy of a Kansas pioneer In her later years, she passed the but his impact in the community, how- woman. Last week I joined my family time reading her Bible, playing in the ever, will be remembered forever. in Yoder, Kansas, to celebrate the life bell choir, and, of course, quilting and and legacy of my grandma, Edna f playing lots of games. In fact, the last Yoder, who recently passed at the age time I saw her recently, we played SPEAKING FOR EQUAL PAY DAY of 105 years old. bingo together, and we wiped out the The SPEAKER pro tempore. The I was very close to my grandma, as competition at her retirement home Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from many of us are to our grandparents. one last time. She was sharp into her New York (Ms. CLARKE) for 5 minutes. She was a sweet and kind woman who final hours. Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. could tell a good story, never met a She was born into a home that did Speaker, I rise today on behalf of stranger, and had an infectious laugh. I not have a telephone, but in her final women and men of New York’s Ninth spent much of my childhood listening days, we were also able to commu- Congressional District on this, the an- to her hum church hymns while cook- nicate from Kansas to Washington via niversary of the signing of the Equal ing a country meal or quilting another FaceTime so I would have a chance to Pay Act by President John F. Kennedy. masterpiece. speak with her. It has been 54 years since the Equal As one of 14 children, born in 1911, We recently had her services at the Pay Act was signed into law, yet she grew up in another era, attending Yoder Mennonite Church, built just

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