Working for Women: Top 5 Things You Should Know
Working for Women: Top 5 Things You Should Know
Democrats in Congress are fighting to keep our economy moving forward, and that means working day in and day out to improve the lives of women and their families. The 111th Congress has passed legislation promoting equal pay for equal work, investing in job creation and job training, ending the worst abuses of health insurance companies, and ensuring that all our children have a healthy start to life. In sharp contrast, Republicans have voted against each of these gains.
Congresswoman Pelosi tweet chats about advancements for women with Moms Rising, a grassroots movement working on issues important to women and families.
Democrats will continue to support women in their jobs, their homes, and their retirement – we will protect Medicare from voucher schemes and preserve vital Social Security benefits from plans to privatize and cut it; 58 percent of Social Security recipients are women and for a majority of women over 65, Social Security provides more than half of their income.
Below are five of the top achievements of the 111th Congress for women – all of which House Republicans have opposed.
1. Promoting Equal Pay for Women – The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (signed into law) The very first bill President Obama signed into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restored the right of women and other workers to challenge unfair pay – by reversing the May 2007 Ledbetter v Goodyear Supreme Court decision that overturned precedent and made it much more difficult for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims.
2. Expanding Job Opportunities and Job Training for Women – The Recovery Act (signed into law) Estimated to have saved 3.3 million American jobs, the Recovery Act included numerous provisions to expand job opportunities for women, including on-the-job training for women in transportation technology and highway construction, and job training grants for women working in the clean energy field.
3.Ensuring the Food Our Children & Families Eat is Safe – The Food Safety Enhancement Act (passed by House) This food safety bill makes several long-overdue repairs to our broken food safety system by requiring more frequent inspections of food processing facilities, giving the FDA the authority to order a food recall if a company fails to do so when requested, and taking steps to ensure that imported foods meet safety standards.
4. Requiring Health Insurers to Stop Treating Being a Woman as a “Pre-existing Condition” – The Affordable Care Act (signed into law) For too long, women have faced discrimination in the health insurance market — often being charged substantially higher premiums for the same coverage as men or being denied coverage for such “pre-existing” conditions as pregnancy, giving birth by Cesarean section, domestic violence, or breast cancer. When reform is fully implemented in 2014, insurers will no longer be able to treat being a woman as a “pre-existing condition” and will no longer be able charge women more than men for the same coverage.
5. Ensuring 11 Million Children Have Health Coverage – SCHIP Reauthorization (signed into law) This legislation provided health care coverage for 11 million children – preserving coverage for 7 million children currently covered by CHIP and extending coverage to 4 million uninsured children who are eligible for, but not yet enrolled in, CHIP and Medicaid.
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