Migration Category: National Old Site

Yesterday the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women protested an anti-abortion press conference, held by New York City clergy. Archbishop Timothy Dolan joined religious leaders in his call to reduce the number of abortions in New York City. Sean Fieler, an investment banker and the chair of the Chiaroscuro Foundation, coordinated the press conference.

Although city health department statistics indicated a decline in the number of abortions in New York City in the last decade, Dolan and Fieler declared that they will renew efforts to reduce abortions. In recent years, Archbishop Dolan has protested outside of the US Supreme Court for the overturn of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Fieler has announced his foundation’s plans to donate $1 million in 2011 to open crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) in New York City.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) pose as comprehensive women’s health clinics and advertise under “abortion” and “family planning” services, but do not offer abortion services, contraeption, or referrals. CPCs often provide false information about abortion, birth control, and the effectiveness of condoms for the prevention of STIs and HIV. These CPCs too often lie to women in need. A Congressional investigation of CPCs revealed that 87% provided false or misleading information about the health effects of abortion. The Congressional report found many of these federally funded centers grossly misrepresent the medical risks of abortion by telling women that having an abortion could increase the risk of breast cancer, result in sterility, and lead to suicide and “post-abortion syndrome.”

The Office of Personnel Management released updated breast-feeding guidelines for federal employees in the executive branch. The new guidelines are consistent with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires that employers allow nursing mothers “a reasonable break time to express breast milk” for up to a year after giving birth.

Federal employees must also be allowed accesses to a private room, other than a restroom facility, to breast feed or express breast milk. Federal employees will not, however, be compensated for breaks taken to breast-feed. The Office of Personnel Management has not announced a deadline for when the changes must be implemented. The legislative branch has already updated its policies.

The United States lags behind most other industrialized countries in failing to provide breastfeeding breaks, as well as paid sick leave, paid paternal leave, and other policies to support workers.

Tina Tchen will replace Susan Sher as Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff, the White House announced yesterday. Tchen currently serves as the Director of the Office of Public Engagement and the Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls. Valerie Jarrett, Chair of the Council of Women and Girls, described Tchen as “a tireless advocate for women and families, [who] brought that wealth of experience and dedication to the White House Council’s efforts.” Tchen plans to continue to head the Council.

Tchen has known Michelle Obama for over 20 years. Michelle Obama stated, “Tina’s tenure at the White House has focused on ensuring that communities across the country have a voice and a presence at the White House, and her office has worked closely with mine to develop many of our outreach efforts, so she was the natural choice for this role. We particularly share a commitment to nurturing young women and utilizing the White House as a platform for education and inclusion, and I look forward to continuing that work together.”

Prior to working for 2008 Obama campaign, Tchen served as partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for 23 years.

John Boehner (R-OH), an opponent to women’s reproductive rights, was sworn in as the House Speaker yesterday. Boehner has made campaign promises to be the most “pro-life speaker in history.”

Anti-abortion rights groups, including Susan B. Anthony List and Americans United for Life (AUL), announced plans to pressure Congress to pass the No Tax Payer Funding for Abortion Act, sponsored by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL), and the Title X Abortion Provider Act, introduced by Representative Mike Pence (R-IN).

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would prohibit taxpayer funding of abortions and would ensure that healthcare reform law does not cover the cost of abortions. The Title X Abortion Provider Act would prevent tax dollars from being sent to abortion providers receiving Title X family-planning grants. AUL has drafted 38 additional model anti-abortion bills.

Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America spoke out against Boehner’s anti-abortion agenda, “Boehner and other like-minded politicians campaigned on limiting the role of government in our lives, yet their actions prove otherwise. They want to shrink government to be just small enough to fit inside our bedrooms and our medicine cabinets.”

Today, as the U.S. Constitution is being read aloud on the floor of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Senator Robert Menendez, chief sponsors of the Equal Rights Amendment, called a press conference together with Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Co-Chair of the House Women’s Caucus and women’s rights leaders to draw attention to the absence of the Equal Rights Amendment. Congresswoman Maloney pointed out that the press conference was even more important because Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia recently commented that the U.S. Constitution does not protect women from sex discrimination.

Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority President, Terry O’Neill, NOW President, Susan Scanlon, Chair of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, Karen J. See, President, Coalition of Labor Union Women and Lulu Flores, President of the National Women’s Political Caucus also spoke at the conference.

Every speaker cited the recent interview of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in the California Lawyer in which Scalia stated that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees equal justice under the law for all persons does not prohibit sex discrimination under the laws of the United States or its states.

Smeal added that Scalia is frequently viewed as the intellectual light of the conservative wing of the Supreme Court which can all too often gain a majority vote of the Justices. “All modern Constitutions adopted since WWII have explicitly included provisions guaranteeing women equal rights. The U.S. is lagging behind in explicitly guaranteeing equal rights for women and prohibition of sex discrimination,” Smeal pointed out.

“We are way past due for a constitutional amendment explicitly acknowledging women’s rights in the United States, said Terry O’Neill. “Nothing less will do, as long as sexists like Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia feel completely justified interpreting women’s rights as unprotected in the U.S. Constitution.”

Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) will set a record as the longest woman to serve in the Senate when she is sworn in today. Senator Mikulski first took office in 1987 as one of only two women Senators. Currently, 17 women serve in the Senate.

Senator Mikulski will begin her fifth term as senator, exceeding the 24 year term of Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME). Mikulski was the first Democratic woman to serve in both the House and the Senate and the first woman elected to the Senate who did not succeed her father or husband.

Senator Mikulski is a champion of abortion rights and women’s health. She sponsored the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps not only women, but all workers who are victims of wage discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, or disability.

In an interview with California Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stated that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment does not prohibit discrimination against women and gays on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. He told the legal magazine, “Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t. Nobody ever thought that that’s what it meant. Nobody ever voted for that.”

Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, clarified, “Justice Scalia’s opinion on women not having Constitutional protection is tragic but not surprising. Scalia’s theory of original intent is devastating to equal rights and ultimately must not prevail. His concept of majority rule is equally devastating to civil rights and minority rights.”

Scalia was a strong opponent of the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned laws prohibiting sodomy. At the time, he compared these laws to regulations against incest and bestiality. Scalia was also the sole Supreme Court Justice to vote in favor of the Virginia Military Institution barring women from attending and is firmly opposed to Roe v. Wade.

Several key provisions of the Affordable Care Act that took effect January 1st will benefit individuals over 65, most of whom are women. Medicare recipients no longer have to share costs for preventive care including mammograms, cancer screenings, annual physicals and immunizations. Other provisions will begin to close the so-called “doughnut hole,” or gap between the initial coverage limit and the threshold for receiving catastrophic coverage.

Benefits implemented in 2010 included the elimination of co-pays and deductibles for preventive care in all new private health care plans and the elimination of exclusions for pre-existing conditions for all children. Moreover, in 2010, young people were permitted to remain on their parents’ health insurance policies until age 26 unless they have other coverage.

Future benefits will include elimination of exclusions for pre-existing conditions in all private health plans, which will take effect in 2014.

President Obama signed the final version of the Affordable Care Act in March. The final law will eventually add coverage for 32 million people, increasing access to family planning and preventive care.

On January 1, Dilma Rousseff was sworn into office and became Brazil’s first woman president. She took the oath of office alongside Vice President Michel Temer. In her inaugural address, Rousseff paid tribute to Brazil’s highly popular former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and described her plans to improve education and public healthcare and reduce homelessness in Brazil.

Following her historic win, Rousseff spoke passionately about her goals to eliminate poverty and promote gender equality, “I hope the fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say yes, women can.”

Rousseff of the Worker’s Party defeated Jose Serra of the Social Democratic Party by a wide margin. Although she has never held elective office before, Rousseff, an economist, was strongly backed by da Silva. She formerly served as da Silva’s Chief of Staff and a member of his cabinet as Energy Minister.

During the 1970s, Rousseff was jailed and tortured for her membership in the left-wing guerrilla group called National Liberation Command, which opposed the military dictatorship ruling Brazil.

The Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act, sponsored by Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), passed the House on Tuesday night. The bill would have established shelters in six regions of the country and provide treatment and services to victims and new resources to law enforcement to prosecute sex traffickers. Mary Ellison, Director of Public Policy at Polaris Project, clarified, “This passage is a sign that America is starting to realize that children in prostitution are victims of a horrific crime called human trafficking and are in need of services and support.” Unfortunately, an amendment was attached to the bill that killed it because it differed from the Senate bill and time ran out for the lame duck session. Meanwhile, there is a dramatic shortage of space and beds in shelters to help the approximately 100,000 underage girls who are victims of sex trafficking each year.

Last Friday, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released Invest in Women, Invest in America: A Comprehensive Review of Women in the US Economy, a study on women’s key role in the US economy and the outmoded framework for social support that places an increased burden on women struggling to manage work and family demands. The study revealed that more than 50 percent of workers believed they lacked flexible work arrangements, which would enable them to balance work and family. As of January 2011, the US will be the only nation that is a member Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) without paid parental leave. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act in the US, mothers are only permitted 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Furthermore, thirty-seven percent of women who work in organizations with 15 or more employees are not allowed paid sick leave. Without national paid sick leave policy to care for themselves or their ill children, many women must report to work sick and or send their children to school. As a result of the lack of a paid sick policy, the economy suffers due to the decreased productivity of workers, or “presenteeism.” Many working women also struggle to afford child care, which is approximately 49 percent of the yearly income of a two-parent family living at the poverty level ($18,310 per year).

This morning, President Obama fulfilled his campaign pledge to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) by signing the stand-alone bill to repeal the policy. On Saturday, the Senate voted 63 to 33 to end the Republican filibuster on the DADT legislation and 65 to 31 to repeal the bill. For the past 17 years, the policy has prohibited the military from inquiring about a service member’s sexual orientation and calls for the discharge of anyone who acknowledges being lesbian or gay. Before a large, applauding crowd, President Obama declared, “It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly.” He recognized and thanked for their major roles in this struggle Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, Representative Patrick Murphy, chief House sponsor, and Representative Susan Davis, outgoing Chair of the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, and other Congressional leaders, as well as Admiral Mullen. Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, stated, “I was proud to be at the signing and feel the joy in the auditorium as a major milestone on the road to equality was reached. As Vice President Biden said, ‘it took a very long time coming.’ And I add, too long… and there are many more milestones to achieve. But the movement is growing and strong, and I have no doubt full equality for all people will be realized.” Last week, the measure to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), introduced by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA), passed in the House by a vote of 250 to 175. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contained an amendment to repeal DADT, passed in the House in May but failed to receive the necessary 60 votes in the Senate to overcome the Republican filibuster. Both US Secretary of Defense Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mullen urged Congress to repeal DADT and endorsed the Pentagon study on DADT released at the beginning of this month. The report included a comprehensive survey of military service personnel and their spouses on their views of gays and lesbians openly serving in the military and found that the repeal of DADT would pose low risk to military effectiveness. Seventy percent of those surveyed stated they thought repeal would have a positive, mixed, or no effect.

Last week, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released Invest in Women, Invest in America: A Comprehensive Review of Women in the US Economy, a study on women’s key role in the US economy, including women’s spending power. Women, according to the JEC report, control 73 percent of spending within their households, which is equivalent to approximately $4 trillion in yearly discretionary spending. Furthermore, women are more likely than men to control daily expenditures in more than half of middle and upper-class households. Women’s income is crucial to their families and growing in importance. In 2008, 38.1 percent of working women earned equal to or more than their husbands, which represents an increase from 1967, when only 18.7 percent of women earned salaries greater than or equal to their husbands. In families in which both spouses work, the woman’s salary accounts for 36 percent of the household income, an increase from 26.6 percent in 1970. Single women now represent 51 percent of all women (2005 Census data), and women served as the sole breadwinner in one third of families in 2009. Single women are more financially vulnerable and have a significantly lower median net worth, $32,850, compared to all households, $93,001. Representative Maloney clarified, “The bottom line is that our economy is harmed when women’s skills are not fully utilized. As we dig out from the worst recession in decades, now more than ever, we need to tap women’s talent, know-how, and purchasing power to usher in a new era of growth and prosperity.” Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, joined Maloney in releasing the report at the Capitol last Friday.

The US Census released the 2010 population counts today, finding a 9.7 percent increase since 2000. As a result of population shifts, 10 states lost seats in the House of Representatives: Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. By contrast, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Carolina, Texas Utah, and Washington gained seats. Texas had the greatest gain of four seats. This is the first time in several decades that California has not gained seats. Media pundits have concluded that Republicans will gain an advantage since the gains occurred in Sunbelt states, which are reliably “red” states. However, Rob Richie, Executive Director of FairVote, clarified that the media is incorrect in its assessment of the partisan impact of the population increase on the House of Representatives. Although on the surface there appears to be an increase in Republican representation, this is not necessarily the case, depending where in the state the seat was gained. Richie pointed out, “the reality is that population shifts not only impact numbers of House seats: they can impact the partisan leanings of states. All it takes is population changes causing one state to shift toward Democrats to undo all the huffing and puffing about electoral vote gains and losses.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics released a report today that found that the birth rate for teenagers in 2009 fell six percent. This is the lowest teenage pregnancy rate recorded since 1940.

The Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the United States Military Service Academies, issued by the Department of Defense late last week, revealed a 64 percent increase in sexual harassment and assaults at West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy in the past year. Department of Defense officials stated in a press release that the increase might be due, in part, to an increased rate of reporting, although the report reveals that only 20 percent of men and women in the armed forces who experienced unwanted sexual contact filed a report. The Air Force Academy had an increase from eight incidents in 2008-2009 to 20 in 2009-10, a 150 percent increase. The Naval academy had an increase of three assaults this year, and West Point, an increase of one. According to the survey, 56 percent of women and 12 percent of men reported sexual harassment last year. Dr. Kaye Whitley, Director of the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention Program, announced that a military-wide hotline will be established for victims that will enable them to seek expert advice and services. In March 2009, the Department of Defense released a report that showed an 8 percent increase in the number of sexual assaults involving service members. Sixty-three percent of the 2,908 reported sexual assaults were rape or aggravated assault, but only eight percent of those investigated for sexual assault were referred to courts martial.

On Saturday, the Senate voted 63 to 33 to end the debate on the stand-alone Don’t Ask Don’t Tell legislation and 65 to 31 to repeal the bill. For the past 17 years, the policy has prohibited the military from inquiring about a service member’s sexual orientation and calls for the discharge of anyone who acknowledges being lesbian or gay. In order to repeal DADT, President Obama must sign the bill and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates must determine that repeal is consistent with military readiness, effectiveness, and unit cohesiveness. In addition, the bill will not take effect until after a required 60 day period. Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign, stated triumphantly, “Today, America lived up to its highest ideals of freedom and equality. Today, our federal government recognized that ALL men and women have the right to openly serve the country they believe in. That it doesn’t matter who you are, or who you love – you are not a second-class citizen.” Last week, the measure to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), introduced by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA), passed in the House by a vote of 250 to 175. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contained an amendment to repeal DADT, passed in the House in May but failed to receive the necessary 60 votes in the Senate to overcome the Republican filibuster. Both US Secretary of Defense Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mullen have urged Congress to repeal DADT and endorsed the Pentagon study on DADT released at the beginning of this month. The report included a comprehensive survey of military service personnel and their spouses on their views of gays and lesbians openly serving in the military and found that the repeal of DADT would pose low risk to military effectiveness. Seventy percent of those surveyed stated they thought repeal would have a positive, mixed, or no effect.

Last week, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released Invest in Women, Invest in America: A Comprehensive Review of Women in the US Economy, a new wage gap report and study on women’s key role in the US economy. The study revealed the economic importance of women-owned businesses, which have added approximately 500,000 jobs between 1997 and 2007, a period when “the rest of privately-held firms” were cutting jobs. Furthermore, the number of businesses owned by women increased by 44 percent, twice as fast as the growth rate of male-owned businesses. Perhaps the growth is spurred on by Fortune 500 companies. Women are 46.4 percent of the employees of Fortune 500 companies but are only 2.4 percent of CEOs and 7.6 percent of executive officers. Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), clarified, “The report can serve as a roadmap for policymakers who want to chart a new pro-growth course for the economy – one that recognizes the changing demographics of our workforce. I also hope that it will be a resource for elected leaders across the country who are working to assess different economic proposals and trying to understand how women’s role as generators of economic growth is affected by different policies.” The study also revealed women make up half of the workforce (49.8 percent) and the persistent gender pay gap that increases with age impacting older women (over 50 years) more than younger women. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, joined Maloney in releasing the report at the Capitol last Friday.

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed four of President Obama’s district court nominations, two of whom were women, in a unanimous vote. Catherine Eagles will serve in North Carolina, Kimberly Mueller in California, John Gibney in Virginia, and James Bredar in Maryland. Thirty-four of the President’s nominees still await confirmation. The four judges are the first of President Obama’s judicial nominees to be confirmed since mid September. Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) clarified, “The across the board stalling of judicial nominations continues, with many noncontroversial nominations being delayed and obstructed for no good reason. The vast majority of the President’s judicial nominees are consensus nominees and should be confirmed by large bipartisan majorities.” President Obama’s judicial nominations have been stalled more than those of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The Senate has taken approximately three times longer to confirm Obama’s district court nominations compared to the first Congress of the Bush administration. Prior to the confirmation of the four district court judges, only 42 percent of President Obama’s nominations had been confirmed. By contrast, President Clinton had a confirmation rate of 84 percent and President George W. Bush, 87 percent.

The Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released today a new wage gap report and study on women’s key role in the US economy. In a press conference today, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Co-Chair of the JEC released the report that contains a “gold mine” of information concerning women’s economic status. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, joined Maloney in releasing the report at the Capitol today. The wage gap for women persists at 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, and this study reveals that senior women experience the largest wage gap. On the average, a woman loses approximately $430,000 due to the wage gap over the course of her career. For full-time women workers over 50 years old, the gap is 75 cents to a man’s dollar; while it is 80 cents for all women ages 16 and over. The new wage gap was also broken down on a state-by-state basis and revealed larger gaps in some states. For example, the largest wage gap for women over 50 years old was in Kentucky, where women earn just 62.8 cents on the dollar or a 37 percent gap, followed closely by Massachusetts where women over 50 make 64.1 cents per dollar of their male counterparts. The top ten wage gap states for women over 50 are: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Illinois.