Following recommendations from the ultra-conservative anti-women’s rights Heritage Foundation, the Bush Administration has proposed to eliminate ten regional offices in the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. The Heritage Foundation published “A Budget for America,” asking the White House to “Phase out the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the Women’s Bureau, and the Civil Rights Office.” The Bureau offices represent only $3.7 million of the Department of Labor’s $11 billion-plus annual budget, and the Bureau itself is the sole federal agency serving the needs of wage-earning women in the public policy process. The National Partnership for Women and Families is leading a call warning the American public that the elimination of the local bureaus could ease the elimination of the entire Bureau in the future. The National Partnership has also learned that the Bush Administration plans to consolidate other various agencies, especially those dedicated to women’s health.
Take Action today! Call Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao at 202-693-6000 and tell her you oppose the elimination of the regional Women’s Bureau offices.
