Senate Floor: STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

Mr. President, this afternoon the President's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics recommended changes to Title IX. While the changes they proposed are not as sweeping as feared, by a tie vote they included in their report a provision that could weaken current compliance requirements for women and girls in sports. While I commend the Commission for rejecting some of the more radical changes considered, I would implore President Bush and Secretary Paige to reject the notion of making any changes that diminish the protections of Title IX, including the so called "50-50" compliance provision.

As you know Title IX has had an enormous influence on all aspects of education, but particularly in the realm of women's and girls' sports. Since enactment the number of female college athletes has increased nearly five fold from fewer than 32,000 prior to enactment to over 150,000 today. At the high school level almost 3 million girls are playing competitive sports today compared to fewer than 300,000 prior to passage. But this isn't just about the numbers. Girls who participate in sports are less likely to take drugs, drink alcohol, smoke or become pregnant than their non-participating peers. They are also more likely to graduate. Through their participation in sports, women and girls are provided opportunities for leadership, teamwork and competition, gain a more positive body image, and are accorded contact with adult role models in their communities. And yet, even with gains and achievements, more needs to be done.

In Division I schools women represent 53 percent of the student body, but receive only 43 percent of the total athlete scholarship dollars, 32 percent of the recruiting dollars and 36 percent of the operational budgets. And for every dollar at a Division I school spent on women's sports, almost two dollars are spent on men's sports.

We've come a long way, but we should not turn the clock back now. I submit today a resolution that not only recognizes the importance of Title IX and a continued need for Title IX protections, but also calls on the Administration to reject any changes weakening current regulations and interpretations of this very important law.