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[Pages H4751-H4752]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESSIONAL WOMEN'S SOFTBALL GAME
(Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ asked and was given permission to address the
House for 1 minute.)
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, in the beginning of the 116th
Congress, we elected more than 80 new Members; and so, in order to
welcome you to the 116th Congress, the women of the Congressional
Women's Softball team want to make sure that everyone knows that the
game is finally here.
The 11th Annual Congressional Women's Softball Game is tomorrow night
at 7 p.m. It is at Watkins Recreation Center, 420 12th Street,
Southeast.
The reason I refer to the 80-plus new Members is that many of you may
not know that we began playing this game 11 years ago, after I made an
announcement, a public announcement that I had been through breast
cancer at 41 years old. I was diagnosed, at 41 after doing a self-exam
in the shower.
One day I was the picture of health; the next day I was a cancer
patient. And, subsequently found that I was also BRCA2 positive,
meaning that I had a genetic mutation that made it infinitely more
likely that I would have a recurrence, and that I would very likely get
ovarian cancer at some point.
So, after a year, 15 months really, of hell, and seven surgeries, not
sharing it until I was all the way through the other side, I shared my
story.
We introduced the EARLY Act, the Education and Awareness Requires
Learning Young Act, which has been law since 2010, which is a law that
now raises awareness in young women, an education and awareness
campaign that has been funded every year with $5 million, to make sure
that we can help young women be aware of their breast health.
So many young women work for us on our staffs. We have a team that we
play against, the common adversary of all of us, the press corps, the
female press corps, and they generally are much younger.
So, Madam Speaker, we raise money for the Young Survival Coalition at
this game. It is an organization that helps young women who deal with
the challenges that they face when they have breast cancer.
[[Page H4752]]
We encourage you all to come out and cheer on Team Congress so we can
beat the press and beat cancer.
I am a founding cocaptain of the Congressional Women's Softball team.
Jo Ann Emerson, our former Republican colleague, was my cocaptain.
Martha Roby is one of our cocaptains this year and, unfortunately,
ladies, the only Republican currently playing on the House side. So
there is always next year.
But I would like to turn over the podium, briefly, to my cocaptain,
Martha Roby. I encourage everyone to wear pink, and come out and cheer
on Team Congress tomorrow.
Mrs. ROBY. Just very quickly, I just want to say please, please,
please come out and support this event. Go Congress. Beat the press.
Beat cancer.
____________________
