Author: Feminist Majority Foundation Blog

Yesterday debate continued on the Ryan Budget in the U.S. House of Representatives. Five separate amendments to alter the Ryan Budget (House Concurrent Resolution 25 [PDF]) were overwhelmingly defeated.

The most significant counter to the Ryan Budget was the official House Democratic budget, proposed by ranking member of the Budget Committee Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Van Hollen’s proposed amendment would have substituted Ryan’s budget with a Democratic alternative that did not cut entitlement programs. The House Democratic Budget was defeated on a 165 to 253 vote.

The Ryan budget would repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which prohibits insurance companies from classifying being a woman as a pre-existing medical condition and eliminates co-pays for birth control. The Ryan budget would also turn Medicare into a voucher system that would leave seniors, particularly women, struggling to get coverage, and authorize the Keystone XL Pipeline. In addition, the proposed budget would restructure the way Social Security Living Adjustments are determined, threatening the stability of seniors nationwide. Paul Ryan also seeks to undo sequester cuts to the Pentagon by instead transferring the cuts to already severely impacted domestic programs.

According to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, all but two states in the U.S. are contributing less funds towards higher education than they did before the recession hit. Except for North Dakota and Wyoming, each state now contributes about 28% less funding per university student than they did before 2008. Arizona and New Hampshire have reduced their contributions to university students by half. Most other states have reduced their funding by a third.

Public institutions are more affordable because they typically draw about 53% of their operating cost from state governments. Now that most state governments won’t allocate as much funding, public universities are forced to compromise their own budgets, which most immediately means cutbacks in staff – Arizona schools have cut over 2,100 positions to date. Tighter funds also mean fewer course offerings and the reduction or closure of computer labs and other information resources.

This forces students to pay more for their educations in the form of elevated tuition rates, while state scholarships funding decreases. The report hypothesizes that this could have been avoided if states reacted to the recession by raising taxes to increase revenue and cutting costs in various sectors other than higher education.

A Texas senate committee has passed a TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) bill that would require abortion clinics in the state to meet strict operating standards that could potentially close many of Texas’s abortion providers. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed SB 537 on a vote of five to two. Similar TRAP laws threaten clinics in other states such as Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi.

The bill was authored by Senator Bob Deuell (R) and two senate physicians. The proposed requirements would force abortion providers to follow the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers, including specifics regarding the flooring and ventilation systems. Many clinics, especially in more rural areas, may not be able to afford the necessary renovation that SB 537 would require and could face closure.

On Monday, a federal judge overturned a Missouri law that would allow employers to deny contraceptive coverage for their employees.

U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the Affordable Care Act. Judge Fleissig determined that, according to the U.S. Constitution, federal law takes precedent over state laws when there is a legal conflict.

In September 2012, the Missouri state legislature overrode the Governor’s veto of the law which would exempt religious institutions from providing contraception coverage to employees. In addition the legislature gave a public rebuttal to the Obama Administration for the Affordable Care Act, the first in the nation. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 20 states [PDF] allow for an employer to deny contraceptive coverage for religious or moral reasons.

On Monday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially announced her support for same-sex marriage rights. In the past, Clinton has supported civil unions and domestic partnerships, but did go so far as to say that she supported marriage equality.

In a video by the Human Rights Campaign, Clinton spoke of her changed views: “America is at its best when we champion the freedom and dignity of every human being,” she said, “Full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That’s why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law.”

Hillary Clinton’s announcement comes after former President Bill Clinton published an op-ed urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Clinton signed into law in 1996. DOMA defines marriage as between one woman and one man in the eyes of the federal court and has been used to deny same-sex couples equal rights and benefits even if they are legally married in their state.

The Ryan Budget is scheduled to be voted on by the House tomorrow. The House Republican’s budget severely impacts domestic programs that women and people of color rely on while undoing major victories that occurred during the Obama Administration’s first term.

The Ryan budget would repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which prohibits insurance companies from classifying being a woman as a pre-existing medical condition and eliminated co-pays for birth control. The Ryan budget would also turn Medicare into a voucher system that would leave seniors, particularly women, struggling to get coverage. In addition, the proposed budget would restructure the way Social Security Living Adjustments are determined, threatening the stability of seniors nationwide. Paul Ryan also seeks to undo sequester cuts to the Pentagon by instead transferring the cuts to already severely impacted domestic programs.

In addition, the Ryan budget isn’t financially sound because it relies on savings from the Affordable Care Act while simultaneously repealing it. Wall Street reforms that aimed at keeping the wealthiest in check would also be repealed. And while the budget proposes to reduce the national debt in a 10 year span by cutting government spending, programs such as education and job skills training that can help create a strong workforce will be the victims of harsh cuts after already detrimental sequester cuts.

The two teenagers accused of raping a sixteen year old girl from West Virginia were found guilty in juvenile court this past Sunday. The two star football players were both sentenced to one year in the state juvenile system for the sexual assault. One of the players must also serve an additional year for the distribution of a nude photograph of a minor. The State Department of Youth Services has the ability to keep the two young men in the juvenile system until they are 21. They must also be registered as sex offenders once they are released.

Because the accused are teenagers, they had a non-jury trial decided by a judge. Judge Thomas Lipps presided over the case and found them delinquent, which is the juvenile equivalent for guilty. Much of the evidence for the case came in the form of social media distributed by the defendants themselves as the victim did not remember the attack. Judge Lipps described the evidence as “profane and ugly” and a cautionary tale of teenagers with alcohol and “how you record things on social media that are so prevalent today.”

The two football players were accused of raping a 16 year old classmate in August after she became intoxicated at a house party. Witnesses tweeted and posted video of the attack on social media sites, and the case went viral.

On Monday, the Republican National Committee released the results of a new study intended to describe public opinion of the party. Commissioned by the party chairman, the study called the “Growth & Opportunity Project” [PDF] features suggestions on how to reform the party’s image before the 2014 midterm elections and the 2016 presidential elections.

The study, which featured in-person interviews as well as thousands of online surveys, found that people consider the party to be “scary,” “narrow-minded” and “out of touch,” as well as the party of “stuffy old men.” Then it details recommendations on how to gain more support such as increasing social media output, updating its technology and reframe its arguments to appeal to a women and minorities.

The study suggests [PDF] that the GOP take a more tolerant look at immigration to appeal to Latinos, establish a database of African-American leaders, and prepare for interviews with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to gain youth popularity. The study also suggests that the RNC must find a way to respond to the War on Women and highlight how the GOP supported the women’s rights movement. Despite citing a study by the Center for American Progress that the number 2 issue for women voters was “a candidate who will fight for them,” the study makes no mention of the party’s stance towards birth control or abortion.

During a hearing Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Senators criticized the military’s handling of sexual assault cases, and called for serious reforms of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Senators heard testimony from sexual assault survivors and advocates, and grilled military leadership on the fairness of the current system, which gives commanders the authority to dismiss jury verdicts and overturn sentences after a courts martial.

Following the hearing, Senator McCaskill announced that she will be introducing legislation to limit the power of commanders. “Giving military commanders with no legal experience the ability to completely nullify a jury’s verdict without even requiring justification is against everything that be believe about justice in this country,” said Senator McCaskill, a former prosecutor.

Senator McCaskill’s move after the testimony of military sexual assault survivors during the hearing comes in response to a recent case at Aviano Air Base in Italy, where a Lieutenant Colonel who was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to a year in prison had his sentence overturned by a Lieutenant General without explanation.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has responded to the outcry over Franklin’s actions by calling for a review of the UCMJ provisions that give commanders to override a court martial.

Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) announced on Thursday that he has changed his position on same-sex marriage and will now support marriage equality. The former staunch supporter of the Defense of Marriage Act credits his change in opinion to his son, Will, who came out to Portman as gay two years ago. Although economic issues will remain his office’s number one focus, Senator Portman will no longer continue to vote against same-sex marriage.

The Senator spoke with reporters on Thursday for interviews and also did a televised interview with CNN. He published an op ed explaining his shift in position in The Columbus Dispatch. Portman described the life event which led to the new personal and political philosophy: “My son came to Jane, my wife, and I, told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice, and that it’s just part of who he is, and that’s [sic] who he’d been that way for as long as he could remember.”

When Will first came out, Portman looked to his church and also to former vice president Dick Cheney, whose daughter Mary is a lesbian, for guidance. Portman cited fatherhood, but also faith as his ultimate reasons for making the radical policy switch. On Thursday, he told the Plain Dealer, “The overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible, and certainly the Golden Rule, and the fact that I believe we are all created by our maker, that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue.”

In his op-ed, he concluded, “I’ve thought a great deal about this issue, and like millions of Americans in recent years, I’ve changed my mind on the question of marriage for same-sex couples. As we strive as a nation to form a more perfect union, I believe all of our sons and daughters ought to have the same opportunity to experience the joy and stability of marriage.”

Reuters adds that this is not revolutionary. The Republican party is becoming increasingly split on the issue of gay marriage because of growth in public acceptance of LGBTQ individuals in recent years.

In response to a budget proposed by House Republicans, Senate Democrats announced their own budget proposal for 2014.

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, released a proposal that combines spending cuts with increased tax revenue, an aspect missing from Representative Paul Ryan’s proposal. The Murray budget seeks to close tax loopholes for the wealthiest Americans without raising tax rates for the middle and lower class. In addition, the Murray budget would protect Medicaid and Medicare while expanding coverage in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.

In a statement released by the Senate budget Committee, members said “The Senate Budget is grounded in the understanding that our country’s long-term fiscal and economic goals will only be met with policies that support a strong and growing middle class. And it keeps the promises we have made to our seniors, our families, and our communities. The American people are sick and tired of watching their government lurch from crisis to crisis. The Senate Budget offers a serious and credible path away from this gridlock and dysfunction and toward a long-term plan to create jobs, lay down a strong foundation for broad-based economic growth, replace sequestration, and tackle our deficit and debt responsibly and credibly.”

The Ryan budget would repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which prohibits insurance companies from classifying being a woman as a pre-existing medical condition and eliminated co-pays for birth control. The Ryan budget would also turn Medicare into a voucher system that would leave seniors, particularly women, struggling to get coverage. In addition, the proposed budget would restructure the way Social Security Living Adjustments are determined, threatening the stability of seniors nationwide. Paul Ryan also seeks to undo sequester cuts to the Pentagon by instead transferring the cuts to already severely impacted domestic programs.

President Obama is set to release his own budget proposal next month.

Yesterday, both sides made opening statements in the case of two high school football players accused of raping a 16 year old classmate in Steubenville, Ohio. The judge will continue to hear arguments and witness testimonies today in a non-jury trial. Prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter has argued that the victim was too intoxicated to consent, while the defense argues she was still in control of her actions.

The two football players are accused of raping a 16 year old classmate in August after she became intoxicated at a house party. Witnesses tweeted and posted video of the attack on social media sites, and the case went viral. If convicted, the two football players could face being held in juvenile detention until they turn 21 and would be required to register as sex offenders upon their release.

Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chair of the House Budget Committee, released a 2013 budget yesterday that attacks multiple advances made since President Obama first took office in 2009.

The Ryan budget would repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which prohibits insurance companies from classifying being a woman as a pre-existing medical condition and eliminated co-pays for birth control. The Ryan budget would also turn Medicare into a voucher system that would leave seniors, particularly women, struggling to get coverage. In addition, the proposed budget would restructure the way Social Security Living Adjustments are determined, threatening the stability of seniors nationwide. Paul Ryan also seeks to undo sequester cuts to the Pentagon by instead transferring the cuts to already severely impacted domestic programs.

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement in response to the Ryan budget. She said, “this proposal is an exercise in contradictions. Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act while counting on the law’s savings to balance their budget. They claim to protect Medicare while devising a plan to end it for future generations. They promise opportunity for all Americans while hurting working families and protecting special interests. Put simply, the Republican budget pledges to balance our books without taking a balanced approach to deficit reduction.”

The White House also released a statement in opposition to the Ryan budget. The statement said, “while the House Republican budget aims to reduce the deficit, the math just doesn’t add up. Deficit reduction that asks nothing from the wealthiest Americans has serious consequences for the middle class. By choosing to give the wealthiest Americans a new tax cut, this budget as written will either fail to achieve any meaningful deficit reduction, raise taxes on middle class families by more than $2,000 – or both. By choosing not to ask for a single dime of deficit reduction from closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and well-connected, this budget identifies deep cuts to investments like education and research – investments critical to creating jobs and growing the middle class. And to save money, this budget would turn Medicare into a voucher program – undercutting the guaranteed benefits that seniors have earned and forcing them to pay thousands more out of their own pockets. We’ve tried this top-down approach before. The President still believes it is the wrong course for America.”

Today Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, convened a hearing to investigate sexual assault in the military. The hearing includes testimony from individuals who have been victims of rape and sexual assault while serving, and is the first Senate hearing to examine sexual assault in the military in almost a decade.

This hearing comes on the heels of yet another tragic example of the military’s failure to protect victims and hold perpetrators of sexual assault accountable. Earlier this month, a Lieutenant General at Aviano Air Base, Craig Franklin, overturned the aggravated sexual assault conviction of Lieutenant Colonel James Wilkerson, who had been sentenced to a year in military prison and a dismissal from the Air Force by a jury of his peers.

The overriding theme of both the Senate hearing and a press conference held yesterday by Congresswoman Jackie Speier has been the issue of command interference in sexual assault investigations and prosecutions. Currently, the military justice system allows commanders unilateral discretion over all cases–including the ability to shut an investigation down at any stage in the process without explanation. Congresswoman Speier announced that she will introduce a new bill, the “Military Judicial Reform Act,” that would strip military commanders of the unilateral power to overturn convictions or lessen sentences handed down by judges and juries at courts martial.

On Friday a federal judge ruled that a 2010 law banning Mexican American studies in Tuscon, Arizona, is constitutional.

Federal Judge Wallace Tashima of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appealsdetermined that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the law was too broad or violated student first amendment rights. Only one part of the law was struck down – a clause that prohibited courses “designed primarily for peoples of a particular ethnic group.”

Judge Tashima warned that the law did border on discrimination by saying, “This single-minded focus on terminating the MAS (Mexican-American Studies) program, along with Horne’s decision not to issue findings against other ethnic studies programs, is at least suggestive of discriminatory intent.” But he continued, “Although some aspects of the record may be viewed to spark suspicion that the Latino population has been improperly targeted, on the whole, the evidence indicates that Defendants targeted the MAS program, not Latino students, teachers or community members who participated in the program.”

Richard Martinez, the plaintiff’s lawyer, has already announced that he plans to appeal the decision. Martinez told the Huffington Post “This case is not over. It’s not only important to Arizona, but to the country as a whole that this statute be addressed.”

Passed in May 2010, the law bans classes that “promote the overthrow of the United States government,” “promote resentment toward a race or class of people,” “are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,” or “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

Over 50 individuals gathered yesterday in Alexandria, Virginia to speak on strict TRAP regulation signed by Governor McDonnell.

In a meeting room that was filled to standing room only, pro-choice activists argued to reject harsh regulations that could force abortion providers in Virginia to meet the building codes of new hospitals or face closure.

Among Virginia residents, state Senator Barbara Favola addressed the room “The costs associated with meeting the building requirements of the proposed TRAP regulations will be so prohibitive –clinics will be forced to close. Women in many parts of the State will be denied access to basic primary and preventive care. Women will also be denied access to safe and affordable abortions, forcing many to seek back alley procedures that could physically harm them for a lifetime. If we care about improved health outcomes for women and children and if we care about lowering abortion rates, then women need access to the entire range of reproductive health services offered by these centers.”

One of the six suspects in the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23 year-old New Delhi student was found dead early this morning. The suspect, Ram Singh, who was accused of driving the bus in which the attacks occurred, was discovered dead in his cell at Tihar Jail around 5:30AM.

The jail claims that Singh committed suicide. Sunil Gupta, the spokesman for Tihar Jail, said , “He hanged himself [from] the ceiling with his own clothes.” Singh’s family, however, insist that the suspect showed no signs of suicidal behavior and are alleging that there must have been foul play.

On December 16th, the physiotherapy student was tortured and raped by a group of six men who were armed with a metal bar on a private bus in New Delhi. The woman was raped for nearly an hour before a metal rod was pushed inside her, critically damaging her internal organs. The victim was flown to Singapore for medical treatment where she died of her injuries in late December.

The incident has sparked protests across India, where a woman is estimated to be raped every twenty minutes, with Delhi being labeled the “rape capital” of the country, according to the Associated Press. Huge protests and demonstrations have voiced anger regarding the treatment of women in India and calling for tougher laws on violence against women.

Last Friday, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard (R) signed into law a measure that will extend the time women seeking an abortion must wait before having the procedure. The bill passed the state House in early February and passed the state Senate last week. The law excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from being included in the already-mandated 72 hour waiting period. This will greatly extend the time a woman would have to wait for her procedure and push her further into her pregnancy.

In 2011, South Dakota enacted a law that requires that women undergo a 72 hour waiting period and mandatory counseling from a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) before obtaining an abortion. Despite legal challenges and an injunction, the waiting period provision was not overturned. South Dakota currently has the longest waiting period in the country. The requirement that women seeking counseling from a crisis pregnancy center before having an abortion is still being contested in court.