February 27, 2007 Keynote Address by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz Headlines Women's History Month Events

A woman’s place is in the “House” – with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the helm as the first female house speaker and a new generation of women lawmakers in Congress.

One of these influential legislators is Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who will deliver the keynote address for the Library’s celebration of Women’s History Month at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14, in the Mumford Room, located on the sixth floor of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz has served the people of Southern Florida for the past 15 years. She made history in 1992 at the age of 26 as the youngest woman ever elected to the Florida State Legislature. She served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1992-2000 and in the State Senate from 2000-2004. During her tenure, she distinguished herself as a champion for children, families, education and the environment. She introduced legislation that helped women by mandating that they get the care they need following childbirth and mastectomies rather than the limited amount of care that insurance companies were willing to cover.

On Jan. 4, 2005, Wasserman Schultz was sworn into the 109th Congress to represent Florida’s 20th Congressional District. Upon her arrival in Congress, she was appointed to the Financial Services Committee, followed by the Committee on the Judiciary. Then Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) selected her to serve as senior whip, the only freshman member of Congress to serve on the Whip team. In December 2006, incoming House Speaker Pelosi appointed her Chief Deputy Whip for the 110th Congress. On the first day of the 110th Congress, the House Committee on Appropriations recommended that Rep. Wasserman Schultz serve as a “Cardinal,” chairing the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

Born on Long Island, N.Y., Wasserman Schultz earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from the University of Florida. She is the mother of three young children.

The Library of Congress’s extensive holdings include millions of items pertaining to women’s history and culture. A display featuring some of these items will be on view throughout March in the foyer of the James Madison Building. The Library has also launched an online resource page to highlight its collections about women and their accomplishments.

Women’s History Month will also be marked by the publication of four new titles in the series “Women Who Dare,” to be published by Pomegranate Press in association with the Library of Congress. These include: “Margaret Mead” by Aimee Hess, “Marian Anderson” by Howard S. Kaplan, “Women for Change” by Sara Day and “Women Explorers” by Sharon M. Hannon.

The Library is also sponsoring other events for Women’s History Month. These include a concert, films and a panel discussion.

• At noon on Saturday, March 10, a concert featuring the work of women composers who attended the artists’ residence program at the MacDowell Colony during its 100-year history will be held in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C.
• The Library is celebrating centennial of the MacDowell Colony with an exhibition titled “A Century of Creativity,” on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, through Aug. 18, in the Southwest Gallery of the Thomas Jefferson Building.
• At noon on Thursday, March 15, in the James Madison Building’s Pickford Theater a film titled “Chisholm ’72 – Unbought and Unbossed” will recall the groundbreaking presidential campaign of Shirley Chisholm.
• At 7 p.m. on Friday evenings during the month of March, a new Veterans History Project film series will focus on “Women at War.”.
• A panel discussion on women in the arts and culture will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 22, in the Mumford Room of the Madison Building.

For a calendar of events, visit the Library’s Web site at www.loc.gov/today/.