So far, the drafting of the Senate Finance Committee's bill has remained very closed. However, Senator Packwood, chair of the Finance Committee, has indicated that he favors block granting AFDC to the states, thus eliminating the entitlement to AFDC, but without many of the punitive restrictions attached to that grant which the House passed. He has indicated support for the work requirements and the five year limit on cash benefits included in the House bill. The Finance Committee is expected to mark up its bill starting on May 24 and may finish before the Memorial Day break (which is May 26 through June 4). The Democrats are also supposed to be drafting their alternative to the Republicans' bill, but no clear indication has been given of what it will include.
ACTION NEEDED : Members of the Senate Finance Committee still need to be pressured, particularly in preserving the entitlement to AFDC. Without the entitlement status, there is no guarantee that poor women and children who need help will receive it.
Senate Finance Committee members: Republicans: Bob Packwood, OR, Chair; Robert Dole, KS; William Roth, DE; John Chafee, RI; Charles Grassley, IA; Orrin Hatch, UT; Alan Simpson, WY; Larry Pressler, SD; Alfonse D'Amato, NY; Frank Murkowski, AK; Don Nickles, OK.
Democrats: Daniel Patrick Moynihan, NY, Ranking Member; Max Baucus, MT; Bill Bradley, NJ; David Pryor, AR; Jay Rockefeller, WV; John Breaux, LA; Kent Conrad, ND; Bob Graham, FL; Carol Moseley- Braun, IL.
The Senate Labor and Human Resources committee held two days of hearings on May 2 and 3. Dr. Foster was the only witness to testify and he did extremely well in the hearings, defending his record and life- long commitment to women's and child health, teen pregnancy, and medical education. He answered questions directly and sincerely, dispelling many of the criticisms the opposition had raised. Several senators on the committee who started off hostile to his nomination made statements applauding his work and commitment to women's health care at the end of the hearings. Senator Bill Frist (R-TN), a former heart surgeon, came to Dr. Foster's defense several times, helping to clarify details of medical procedures and medical ethics which many of his Republican colleagues raised.
The committee vote is scheduled for May 24 and the vote count looks promising. At the end of the hearings, Sen. Jim Jeffords (R-VT) said he would support Foster. With all the Democrats indicating support, the vote count is currently tied at 8-8. Senator Frist is likely to support the nomination as well.
The next hurdle is bringing the nomination to the Senate floor for a vote. Majority Leader Bob Dole's threat not to bring the nomination to the floor is still hanging out there, although he has now stated he wants to meet with Dr. Foster before a final decision. The committee chair, Senator Nancy Kassebaum, and a member of the committee who opposes the nomination, Senator Judd Gregg, both have stated publicly that the nomination should come to the floor for a vote. Their voices join many of the Democrats who want a vote on the nomination and some (such as Senators Barbara Boxer, Christopher Dodd and Minority Leader Tom Daschle) have threatened to hold up other legislation if a vote is not scheduled. Another obstacle is Senator Phil Gramm's filibuster threat. However, it is unclear whether he has the votes to sustain a filibuster.
ACTION NEEDED : As the committee vote is so soon, pressure needs to expand to the full Senate for a floor vote. A vote is not expected until after the Memorial Day recess. This district work period would be an excellent time to lobby senators while they are home. More calls and letters should be directed to your Senators, even if you've contacted your Senators already on this issue. (Call 202-224- 3121 for the Capitol switchboard; address letters to Senator ________, U. S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510) Also, letters to the editor and/or op-ed pieces in your local paper are critical to generate local action on the issue.
Calls and letters also need to be directed to Senator Bob Dole. His threat to prevent the Foster nomination from coming to a vote is a misuse of his position as Majority Leader of the Senate. If he is opposed to the nomination of Dr. Foster, he should vote no on the floor, not hold up the process.
*** For more information on Dr. Foster, the groups that support him, and up-to-date information on the nomination, Planned Parenthood and People for the American Way have established a home page on the Internet. The site address is: http://www.igc.apc.org/foster_action/.
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) also threatened an amendment to strip $25 million dollars from the Title X family planning program. While his amendment was never offered, the targeting of Title X is very worrisome. The Title X program has not been reauthorized since 1985, yet funds have been appropriated each year. The conservative Family Research Council has specifically asked Congress to defund Title X and has also urged that all federal money currently channeled to Planned Parenthood be cut off.
Abortion restrictions attached to appropriations bills (which were common before 1993) are possible fights to expect. The gains we made in 1993 included expanding medicaid funding of abortions to include cases of rape and incest, allowing federal employees to include abortion in their insurance coverage under the federal health insurance plan (known as FEHBP), payment of abortions for federal prisoners, and allowing DC to use locally raised funds to pay for poor women's abortions. Each of those gains is expected to be tested through the appropriations process.
ACTION NEEDED : While no specific timetable has been set for appropriations bills, action will occur throughout the summer. One way to garner support for preserving the Title X family planning program is to ask your House members to co-sponsor the bill which reauthorizes Title X and legislatively prohibits the gag rule (the Bush administration policy which prevented doctors who receive federal funds to counsel or discuss abortion with patients). The bill, HR 833, was introduced jointly by Rep. Jim Greenwood (R-PA), John Porter (R-IL), Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Henry Waxman (D-CA). Ask your representatives to show their support for federally funding family planning by co-sponsoring HR 833. This will help get members on record as supporting Title X and lay the groundwork for future fights.
Attacks have been mounted by several football coaches against Title IX and the implementation of its provisions on gender equity in sports. In the Senate, Senator John Breaux (D-LA) along with 21 other senators sent a letter to Secretary of Education Richard Riley with concerns about the implementation of Title IX by the Education Department's office of civil rights. The Office of Civil Rights sent a letter back addressing the concerns and this seemed to satisfy Sen. Breaux, yet pressure from football coaches continues. Furthermore, the Senate Commerce Committee, on which Breaux sits, may hold hearings on Title IX. The timing is still unclear. A "Dear Colleague" letter is being circulated in the Senate in support of Title IX by Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Bill Bradley (D-NJ).
On the House side, opposition to Title IX is led by Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL). While not on the committee himself, Hastert has been pressuring the Education and Economic Opportunities committee to hold a hearing on Title IX, and he testified against the current implementation of Title IX in sports at the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training and Lifetime Learning's hearing on May 9th.
The hearings did not result in any suggestions for new legislation or a change in the current law. There was wide bipartisan support for gender equity in sports in principle at the hearings. The main target of criticism was the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education and its implementation and enforcement of Title IX.
Arguments by the opponents of Title IX include that complying with Title IX jeopardizes smaller men's teams, hurts revenue producing teams like football (and therefore, such sports should be excluded from examination of a school's compliance with Title IX), and that gender equity is impossible to achieve since women aren't really interested in sports. Complying with Title IX does not mean men's sports must be cut; in fact, the numbers prove otherwise: for every dollar spent for women's sports between 1989 and 1993, two dollars were spent on men's sports. Women still only receive a third of athletic scholarships, one-sixth of recruiting budgets, and one-fifth of overall athletic budgets.
Football teams are not all revenue producers; in fact, 62% of Division I-A teams ran a deficit in 1993. Furthermore, wasteful spending and excesses abound in football programs. For example, Division I-A teams put up all team members in hotels the night before home games in additional to away games. Football takes up an average of 60% of athletic budgets; if football's 60% is exempt from the calculation of gender equity, women's sports will be severely limited. And the statistics on girls' participation rates in sports (8% before Title IX to 35% today) proves girls and women are interested; it is the lack of opportunity that continues to prevent gender equity.
NOW has participated in lobbying in support of Title IX and signed onto joint testimony with the National Women's Law Center for the subcommittee hearing in the House.
ACTION NEEDED: Further action at the congressional level is unclear if no legislation or other hearings are pending. Yet letters of support still need to reach Secretary of Education Richard Riley, particularly since criticism at the House hearing focused on the Department's Office of Civil Rights. Letters should be sent to Secretary of Education Richard Riley, Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202.
Affirmative action programs are under attack by the Republicans and some Democrats. President Clinton has called for a review of all federal affirmative action programs. The House held hearings on affirmative action policies in the workplace in the Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee of the Economic and Education Opportunities Committee on March 24 and in the Constitution Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee on April 3 and May 2. Again, no specific legislation was pending in either hearing, but the general discussion, particularly by the Republicans, was about ending affirmative action. Furthermore, legislative actions are occurring outside of the hearing process. Senator Jesse Helms (R- NC) has introduced a bill, S. 497, which eliminates affirmative action programs in public employment, public contracting and federal benefits and Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) has threatened to put amendments on appropriations bills to undermine affirmative action programs.
NOW has participated in lobbying and activities with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, sent letters to targeted House and Senate members and joined other women's organizations in a march and demonstration at the White House (Women United for Equality). The leaders of these groups then met with White House officials, asking them not to weaken affirmative action.
ACTION NEEDED : Write your members of Congress and President Clinton; tell them not to bar or repeal affirmative action programs. The White House address is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20500.
ACTION NEEDED : If you have not already done so, letters should go to the Chairs and Ranking Members of Senate committees which may mark up different parts of the welfare bill. They include Bob Packwood, R-OR, Chair and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-NY, Ranking Member [Finance Committee]; Nancy Kassebaum, R-KS, Chair and Edward Kennedy, D-MA, Ranking Member [Labor and Human Resources Committee]. Also, the Family Violence Prevention Act is up for reauthorization this year; contact Orrin Hatch, R-UT, Chair and Joseph Biden, D-DE, Ranking Member [Judiciary Committee] and ask them to reauthorize this critical source of funding for battered women's shelters.
The second violence issue is the upcoming appropriations battle in the House and Senate. All reports indicate that programs will be cut deeply. The Violence Against Women Act authorized nearly $274 million for various programs in FY 96; it is up to us to pressure the appropriators to allot the full amount and not a dime less in the FY 96 budget. Contact the chairs and ranking members of both the House and Senate Appropriations committee. Remind them that violence against women is a serious matter and they must show their commitment to ending this epidemic by appropriating the full amount of funds Congress authorized in last year's widely supported Violence Against Women Act: Bob Livingston, R-LA, Chair and David Obey, D-WI, Ranking Member [House Appropriations Committee]; Mark Hatfield, R-OR, Chair and Robert Byrd, D-WV, Ranking Member [Senate Appropriations Committee].
For copies of any of the above bills, connect to Thomas or call your Senator or Representative at (202) 225-3121 who will send you copies free of charge. This update is mailed monthly to NOW leadership. Any member can get the update for a yearly charge of $25.