The Senate passed the bipartisan SCHIP bill 66-32 and the House will soon consider whether to pass the Senate version and send SCHIP to the President for signature.

NOW President Kim Gandy writes in her bi-weekly Below the Belt column, "The current financial crisis is a feminist issue, and groups like NOW are working to ensure that the revitalization of our economy takes women into account. So, if I sound like I'm taking the successes and setbacks of the economic recovery package personally -- well, I am."

As you may have heard, an important family planning provision was unceremoniously dumped from the economic recovery package this week, after Republican leaders and conservative pundits complained about it all weekend. Tell Congress and the President that…

NOW President Kim Gandy writes, "I had the honor of witnessing President Barack Obama sign his very first piece of legislation -- the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This victory for economic justice wouldn't have been possible without your support."

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy:

This day has been a long time coming for Lilly Ledbetter and every woman who has suffered pay discrimination. It is an important symbol that the Lilly Ledbetter Act will be the first piece of legislation signed by President Barack Obama.

On the heels of the House's reauthorization (289-139) of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Senate will take up their version of the bill which expands coverage to include an additional four million low-income children who have no health insurance. Act now -- tell your senators to vote!

"President Obama took the side of justice today," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "For eight years the Global Gag Rule has forced international family planning organizations to make an impossible choice between providing comprehensive reproductive health care, and receiving funds that enable them to help women in need. Women around the world have died as a result of this heartless policy."

Today New York Gov. David Paterson picked women's rights supporter Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "She has big shoes to fill, and we are confident that she will be a senator who will continue the fight for the women, girls and families of New York and the nation," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "We are pleased a pro-choice woman has been appointed, and we expect that Gillibrand will take up key issues where Clinton left off."

If you live in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, South Carolina, Arizona, Alabama or Maine, please send a message to your Senators that Mr. Holder's confirmation should be approved.

Tonight the Senate passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act by a bipartisan vote of 61 to 36, vindicating Lilly Ledbetter's long search for redress after 19 years of pay discrimination.

"This is an important first step in our efforts to undo years of backsliding on the right to be paid a fair and equitable wage," said National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy. "The Ledbetter bill will allow redress for workers with the energy and willpower to seek redress in the courts, but we have a long way to go before we have fair pay for women, and laws with real teeth."

NOW President Kim Gandy says, "As we return to national leaders who support women's rights, we anticipate a stronger backlash and more virulent attack on women's reproductive freedom. But nothing will diminish our determination to restore the rights we've lost."

Today feminists across the United States and around the globe are applauding President Barack Obama for his nomination of Clinton as U.S. Secretary of State and the Senate for its swift, bipartisan confirmation. The lopsided 94-2 vote demonstrates that Clinton's experience and intelligence inspire respect and confidence among her colleagues.

On Thursday, Jan. 22, the National Organization for Women (NOW) will hold its annual vigil at the U.S. Supreme Court, commemorating and celebrating the 36th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision affirming women's constitutional right to abortion.

NOW President Kim Gandy writes of today's inauguration of President Barack Obama, "All those times we were marching to make demands of a government that would not hear us, but this time my daughter and I marched to the foot of the U.S. Capitol to join a buoyant throng and witness a triumphant changing of the guard."

While January 2009 will be most remembered for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, women's rights supporters remember another historic moment that took place on Jan. 22, 1973 -- the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.