Lawmakers and the press face off at the Congressional Women’s Softball Game

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - In Washington on Wednesday, lawmakers and members of the press took to the field for the annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game.

The game, now in its 16th year, is an event that brings lawmakers together and raises money for breast cancer.

“It’s so exciting, this is the second year that I’ve played, I’m a freshman in Congress but it’s been one of the best things I’ve done,” said Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) “And I think one of the reasons is that it’s bipartisan. The Democrats and Republicans, we play together, we play the press.”

The proceeds raised from the game benefit Young Survival Coalition, a non-profit group dedicated to helping young women with breast cancer. Since the game began in 2009, it has raised more than $4.3 million for the organization.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) was one of the lawmakers that started the game after she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 41 and wanted to raise awareness about the disease.

“The goal here obviously is to raise awareness to help young women and people who love them, to make sure that they know that they should, while they’re running around doing all these other things, pause for a minute. Take a moment to know about your own health, your own health care experience. Do self-exams, know what’s normal for you,” she said.

Some lawmakers also said the game is a time for Republicans and Democrats to come together and sometimes, even helps them get bills across the plate.

“There’s literally times where we’ll find people here on the field and it’s like, oh yeah, I was going to talk to you about this bill that we wanted to work on together,” said Rep. Scholten. “So it just provides women especially, a place off the House floor. We are still a vast minority in the Congress, and, you know, just a place of our own to to come together, break free from the stress of the House floor and to really connect and bond.”

The media team, the Bad News Babes, ended up winning the game, 9-4.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz said she never imagined that the game would raise as much money as it has and said it has come a long way.

“Our first practices were in the park across the street from my townhouse and now we play on a real field, we get thousands of people to come out,” she said. “This is a Capitol Hill tradition now and it’s a favorite because people can come together on this hometown field. We can be together, the members and our staff can cheer on Congress. The congressional team, the press team, they do the same. And at the end of the day, though, it’s young women whose lives we can save, that really win.”

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