Voting to Extend Unemployment Benefits; Working for Fairness and Equality

Voting to Extend Unemployment Benefits
Our first priority is to create jobs; the American people want to get back to work. Unemployment Insurance is a lifeline for millions of jobless Americans still looking for work, as well as a proven economic booster, returning $2 into the economy for every $1 invested.

Yesterday, Democrats in the House voted to extend unemployment benefits to Americans who lost their jobs through no fault of their own; unfortunately, Republicans did not. We will continue to work for an emergency short-term extension to get families through the holidays as well as longer term solutions.

Paycheck Fairness
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans stood against fundamental fairness for working women and families by blocking passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. This legislation reaffirms one of our core values: equal pay for equal work.

Congresswoman Pelosi greets workers at the United Steelworkers conference last month,
“Women of Steel – World of Women”

It is outrageous that in the year 2010 women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar men make for the exact same job. In this time of great economic challenge, that difference in pay makes a big difference for families struggling to get by.

Unfortunately, partisan politics blocked this legislation that has already passed the House and is supported by the majority of the American people. My question is: What do they tell their daughters?

Equal Visitation Rights
This week, new rules were announced to ensure that no one is denied the right to have the person they love by their side during a hospital stay. From now on, all hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid must allow patients to receive visitors of their choosing and designate others to make decisions about medical care in the case of an emergency.

For LGBT families, this change is long overdue – and it marks a critical step toward ending discrimination and upholding our nation’s promise of equality for all. I applaud President Obama for initiating this process and Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius for her leadership in establishing these new regulations.

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 Web site. I am now on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi.