Memorandum to House Republicans on A Real Agenda for American Women

MEMORANDUM  

To:                  House Republicans

From:             Rosa DeLauro, Steering and Policy Co-chair

Jan Schakowsky, Steering and Policy Vice Chair

Donna F. Edwards, Chair of the Democratic Women’s Working Group

Eddie Bernice Johnson, House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Ranking Member

Nita M. Lowey, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member

Carolyn Maloney, Ranking House Member Joint Economic Committee

Louise Slaughter, House Rules Committee Ranking Member

Maxine Waters, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member

Date:               January 10, 2014

RE:                 A Real Agenda for American Women

We know you are receptive to memos and have expressed an interest in learning about how to better communicate with women on the issues important to them. To that end, this memo is in the spirit of moving past partisan politics and working together to ensure America’s women and their families have the economic security and opportunities they need to succeed.

Yesterday House Republicans on a Judiciary subcommittee – an all-male panel led by GOP Rep. Trent Franks – held a hearing on yet another dead-end bill to restrict access to women’s health services. At this hearing one of the Majority witnesses, Helen Alvare, admitted to House Republicans that this issue is standing in the way of a “real women’s agenda”:

Regular squabbles over federal funding for abortion across myriad pieces of legislation seem to have taken the place of an actual legislative agenda for women’s actual needs. Instead of debating policies supporting women’s care work, or work/family balance, policies addressing paid leave or social security benefits -- instead of debating ideas about enabling poor women especially to break the cycle of poverty and nonmarital childbearing --Congress continually debates abortion funding. It is time once and for all to settle the matter of federal funding for abortion, and move on to a real women’s agenda. [1/9]

As MSNBC noted, some of the measures mentioned have already been introduced by Democrats:

Alvare did mention a couple of policies she would consider more pro-woman than the right to choose and access an abortion, among them paid family leave. In fact, Democrats just introduced such legislation in both chambers. The Republican silence was deafening. [1/9]

The constant debates and squabbling the witness decried are a result of Republicans refusing to take action on real legislation to help American women. The time has come to stop wasting taxpayers’ time and dollars waging attacks on women’s constitutionally protected right to make informed health care decisions about their own bodies with their own doctors and work on an “actual legislative agenda for women’s actual needs.”

House Democrats have an economic agenda for America’s women, When Women Succeed, America Succeeds, which will enable women to achieve greater economic security, raise wages for working women and their families and allow working parents to support and care for their families. Among the policies included in this agenda:

·         Paycheck Fairness

·         Supporting Women Entrepreneurs and Women-Owned Small Businesses

·         Paid Family and Medical Leave

·         Paid Sick Leave

·         The President’s Preschool and Early Head Start & Child Care Initiative

·         Promoting Access to Affordable and High Quality Child Care

Enough of the talking – it’s time for action for American women and their families.

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