Lawmakers score a win in annual congressional softball game

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Washington lawmakers beat out the women of the D.C. press corp on Wednesday night during the annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game.

Team Congress won 5-3, although the game ended early because of severe weather.

The Capitol Hill summer tradition has has brought lawmakers and the media together since 2009, to raise money for young women battling breast cancer.

“So making sure that we can help raise awareness and help a woman catch breast cancer early, if she’s going to experience it, we’re all united behind that,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who started the game after being diagnosed with breast cancer herself.

Since the game began, it has generated $4.3 million for the Young Survival Coalition, a non-profit group that advocates for women under 40 who are diagnosed with breast cancer.

Many of the lawmakers also said that the game helps build bipartisanship relationships.

“It’s helped to break down some barriers and get to know people on a personal level,” said Rep. Julie Fedorchak, (R-ND).

Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS), who has participated since 2019, said the game offers a rare opportunity for lawmakers to get to know each other off the Hill.

“There are very few opportunities to interact outside of the policy space,” she said. “The practices, the game, the after party, those are all opportunities for folks to get to know each other in a way that isn’t just talking about the policy, agreements or arguments that might happen. So it’s definitely a relationship builder.”