Fighting for American Priorities

Fighting for America’s Women
Since its passage 18 years ago, Congress has come together twice in a bipartisan way to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act. This year, a strong bill passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 68-31 – including the support of every single woman in the Senate.

In sharp contrast, House Republicans passed a controversial bill that will weaken the protections we give to those who suffer from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The legislation fails members of the LGBT community, Native American women, and immigrant victims.

I voted against the legislation. All people deserve to be protected from domestic violence; there should be no special exceptions to this law. Over 300 organizations have spoken out in opposition to the Republican bill: from the American Bar Association to the United Methodist Church to the YWCA. Congress must take action to strengthen – never weaken – the Violence Against Women Act.

Congresswoman Pelosi visits Afghanistan on Mother’s Day to visit the troops
and meet with diplomatic and military officials, and the women of Afghanistan.

Honoring Our Troops
As we look forward to Memorial Day, we honor the service of those who wear our uniform, who sacrifice on distant battlefields so we could know freedom and security at home. Over the past four years, I have had the privilege of spending Mothers’ Day with some of the mothers on the front lines – women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere, far away from their families, their children, and their loved ones. Just this past weekend, I traveled with a bipartisan delegation to Afghanistan to visit with our troops, hear their stories and concerns, and pay tribute to the bravery they demonstrate every day.

Restoring funding for HIV/AIDS
For 25 years fighting HIV/AIDS has been one of my top priorities. San Francisco has led the way in developing a holistic system of care for people suffering from HIV/AIDS. Yesterday, Mayor Lee and Supervisors Scott Weiner, David Campos, and Christina Olague announced that the City of San Francisco would restore $6.6 million for HIV/AIDS care, treatment and prevention funding. The announcement demonstrates yet again that leaders in San Francisco stand united in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The funding is critical to maintain local care organizations, primary care services and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. In the last five years alone, I have fought to prevent drastic cuts in care and treatment funds for San Francisco - restoring nearly $21 million from cuts to San Francisco’s systems of care for people living with HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, late last year Republicans in Congress defeated our efforts to protect against these disproportionate and unsustainable cuts. I will continue to fight with city officials to ensure that we maintain these critical initiatives, which have saved so many lives in our community.

Please feel free to forward this information to your family and friends. To learn more about these efforts, to express your views, or to sign up for email updates, please visit my website. I am also on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NancyPelosi.