Affirmative Action/Sex Discrimination/Sexual Harassment
Reproductive Rights
Violence Against Women Act Funding
Affirmative Action/Sex Discrimination/Sexual Harassment
Action in Congress on proposed rollbacks of affirmative action protections has begun, with hearings in both the Senate and House on the Dole/Canady bills (S. 1085/ H.R. 2128). Mark-up in the Judiciary Committee on the House bill is expected sometime in May but no date has been set as yet. Reportedly, the leadership would like the House bill to go to a floor vote in June. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Tuesday, April 29th, concerning the proposed California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), with California Governor Pete Wilson and CCRI Campaign Chairman Wade Connerly testifying, along with advocates of affirmative action programs. Mark-up of the Dole bill in that committee has not been scheduled at this time, but could happen soon.
The California Civil Rights Initiative, of course, is a deceptive, extreme measure that will ban all affirmative action programs for women and people of color, including outreach and recruiting programs. Clause "C" of CCRI permits discrimination based on gender that is "reasonably necessary" to the "normal operations" of public employment, contracting, and education -- code words, identified by critics, as relegating California sex discrimination law from a high level of scrutiny to the lowest standard of judicial review.
Twenty-one other states have similar initiative petitions circulating or have had related legislation introduced in their state legislatures.
The Dole/Canady bills still have several other referrals to Congressional committees before any floor vote can be scheduled. A brief analysis of those bills was included in the March 7th NOW Legislative Update. Six additional anti-affirmative action bills have been introduced into Congress.
Letting your U.S. Representative know that you support affirmative action and oppose H.R. 2128
is important. Although no dates have been set for mark-up of the legislation as of this writing,
things could move very quickly in Congress during May and June. Memorial Day holiday when
members will in the home district is an excellent opportunity to speak with your member about
the importance of maintaining affirmative action programs; talking points are available from the
NOW Action Center, Government Relations/Public Policy office.
Late Term Abortion Prohibition or "D & X" Bill
True to his word, President Clinton vetoed the late term abortion bill (H.R. 1833/ S. 939 - the so-called "Partial Birth Abortion Ban") in April. A veto override vote is planned for June in the House. The issue will not quickly go away as there are at least 13 states where similar bills were being debated in legislatures, some dying in committee while the legislatures adjourned for the year.
Further, the late term abortion measure was the 14th bill passed by this Congress to restrict access to abortion and to limit family planning funds. Five bills that would effectively repeal Roe v. Wade have been introduced.
Efforts to repeal the ban on privately funded abortions at overseas military hospitals for servicewomen and military dependents failed last week in the House National Security Committee during their mark-up of the FY 1997 Defense Authorization bill. Rep. Rosa DeLauro offered the amendment, which failed by a vote of 20-26; nine members were absent.
International Family Planning Funding
With the passage of the FY 96 budget bill in late April, funding for international family programs were cut by 85%. Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield tried valiantly to restore funding in the conference committee, but was defeated. A technical error allowed full funding to be part of the final budget package at $540 million for this program which provides contraceptive assistance to 17 million persons in developing countries. However, the error was caught and funding was pared back to the severely reduced amount. The reduction was part of a budget deal the President made with Republicans to obtain the final appropriation authorization for the current fiscal year.
Mandatory OB/GYN Abortion Training
The final FY 96 budget agreement included a provision that will nullify the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education program guidelines that require abortion training for OB/GYN residency programs. This means that now abortion training can be eliminated from these programs at the discretion of the medical schools without fear of losing federal funding.
Medicaid Coverage of Abortion Services
Another abortion rights "victory" was achieved in the FY 96 budget. The final version retains current law, the Hyde language, which requires Medicaid coverage of abortion services in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest. A proposal would have made this a state option. Anti-abortion members of Congress have indicated, however, that they intend to bring back this provision during the FY 97 appropriations process.
One of the few victories during the 104th Congress was adoption of a measure to repeal a provision that would have required dismissal of HIV-positive military personnel and prohibition of any health benefits for them or their dependents. Originally pushed through as part of the FY 96 Defense Authorization bill by Rep. Bob Dornan (R-CA), the measure would have affected over 1,000 members of the military. It was not supported by the Pentagon which stood behind current policy of allowing HIV-infected servicemembers to continue on the job until as long as they are physically able. The Senate unanimously adopted the repeal. Senate conferees pressured House conferees to adopt the repeal as part of the FY 96 budget bill which has now been signed by the President and enacted.
Rep. Dornan does not give up easily and has included similar language into his draft of the FY 1997 Defense Authorization bill. This lastest provision is different in that it would offer health benefits to dependents and exempt service members with 15 or more years of service.
Violence Against Women Act Funding
More good news with the passage of the final funding bill of 1996 was nearly full funding of the Violence Against Women Act. The Department of Health and Human (HHS) Services will receive $53 million (full funding was $61.9) and the Department of Justice will receive $175 million (full funding was $176). NOW LDEF advises that applications for STOP grants (funding state-level law enforcement and victim services programs), rural domestic violence programs, and child abuse grants will be out in the next few weeks from the Justice Department. HHS will issue requests for proposals within the next month for programs including rape prevention and education, the Hotline, and funding for shelters.
Persons wishing more information on grant programs should contact the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Sherry Ettleson, (202) 434-7405 or 223-9729.
* A dangerous bill, the Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act, (H.R. 1946/S.984) (PRRA), a bill that the Christian Coalition wants as part of its 'Contract with the American Family', has begun to move. If the bill were to become law, any individual or Religious Right organization would be able to challenge in federal court virtually any decision of public schools, libraries, health and welfare programs regarding his or her child's health or education. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts passed S. 984 by a vote of 4 to 3 on April 17th.
Additional FY 96 budget items:
--Funding for the Public Health Service Office on Women's Health increased from the $2.5 million it received in FY 95 to $5.4 million in FY 96. Many programs at the Department of Health and Human Services will remain funded at last year's level, including the Title X Family Planning program at $193.3 million and the Child Care and Development Block Grant at $934.6 million.
--The Dislocated Worker Assistance program in the Department of Labor received a decrease of only $29 million from the FY 95 level, even though the $1.2 billion program had been slated for more serious cutbacks.
--The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) was cut from $415 million to $278 million, a loss of $137 million. Also, LSC will be restricted from participating in a variety of legal actions, including abortion litigation, class action suits against state and federal governments, and civil cases involving convicted felons.
This Legislative Update was compiled by the Government Relations/Public Policy Team at the National NOW office. Call Jan Erickson, Government Relations Director, at (202) 628-8669, ex. 725, if you have any questions. For copies of any of the above bills, call your Senator or Representative at (202) 224-3121, who will send you copies free of charge. The update is mailed monthly to NOW leadership. Any member can get a copy of this update mailed to them for a yearly charge of $25.