Closing the Gender Gap: Policy Priorities
1. Violence Against Women: The President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget proposes: a $120 million cut from the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), elimination of the balance of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Fund, and only $122.6 million for the Family Violence Prevention Services Act (FVPSA) -- $52.4 million less than the level for which it was authorized. These cuts would endanger victims' safety and lives, as these programs are already struggling to come up with the resources necessary to continue to combat violence against women and serve those in need.
"The Ask": Include enough money to support full funding for VAWA programs at $320 million in the Labor-HHS-Education budget and $683 million in the Commerce-Justice-Science budget, protect the balance of the VOCA Fund, and raise the VOCA Fund cap to $717 million.
2. Family Planning: Title X funding for family planning clinics and Medicaid provide high-quality contraceptive services and other preventive health care to low-income women who would otherwise lack access to these important health care services.
"The Ask": Provide $400 million in FY 2009 for Title X; restore access to low-cost birth control for other safety net clinics and college health clinics that were inadvertently cut off by the Deficit Reduction Act (S. 2347, H.R. 4054); and enact the Medicaid Family Planning State Option to allow states to expand eligibility for family planning services without seeking a federal waiver, an approach that promotes women's health and saves federal and state dollars.
3. Child Care and Head Start: Funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant has been virtually flat since 2002, translating into hundreds of thousands of children losing child care assistance. Head Start has provided comprehensive child development services to millions of low-income children and families since 1965, but after years of largely flat funding, Head Start programs across America are stretched to the limit. More than half report cuts in hours or services; they cannot absorb the FY 2008 budget cut, much less invest in the program expansions and quality improvements approved in the 2007 Head Start Reauthorization Act.
"The Ask": Support a funding increase of $874 million for child care and $1.072 billion for Head Start.
4. Federal Child Support Enforcement: The child support program serves more than 17 million children, and collects $24 billion a year in owed child support. For poor families that receive it, child support provides 30% of family income. The program is highly effective, collecting $4.65 in private child support for every $1 invested. But cuts in program funding, approved as part of the Deficit Reduction Act, are starting to take effect. Some counties are in the process of laying off a third or more of their front-line workers. The cuts in services will cost families $1 billion or more a year in uncollected child support, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
"The Ask": Support the Child Support Protection Act of 2007 (S. 803, H.R.1386) to restore the cuts and protect these essential services.
5. Medicaid Regulations: Seven out of ten adult Medicaid beneficiaries are women. During the past year, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a number of regulations that would reverse long-standing Medicaid policies and eliminate federal payments for a variety of critical Medicaid functions. Congress acted last year to delay implementation of some of these regulations, but the moratoria are expiring. During tough economic times, shifting Medicaid costs to states already facing significant budget shortfalls will translate into cuts that would have a devastating impact on women and families across the country.
"The Ask": Extend the moratoria by supporting the Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008 (H.R. 5613).
6. Nutrition Programs: Seven out of ten adult food stamp recipients are women. Adequate nutrition for women and children is a building block for other opportunities, but soaring prices for basic food items are making it harder than ever to put food on the table.
"The Asks": Pass a Farm Bill with a strong nutrition title; include a temporary increase in food stamp benefits in a second economic stimulus package; and fully fund discretionary nutrition programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
7. Child Tax Credit: Families must earn at least $12,050 in 2008 to get any benefit from the partially refundable Child Tax Credit when they file their taxes next year. As a result, nearly 17 million children in poor and low-income families will get limited or no benefit from the credit, unless Congress acts.
"The Ask": Lower the refundability threshold for the Child Tax Credit for 2008.
8. Unemployment Compensation: Unemployment rates in this downturn are similar for men and women - but jobless women are less likely to qualify for unemployment benefits because of out-dated eligibility rules that disproportionately disqualify women.
"The Ask": Support the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act (H.R. 2233, S. 1871).
9. Paid Sick Leave: Three out of four low-wage workers, mostly women, have no paid sick days. The Healthy Families Act, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), would create a new federal workplace standard of up to seven paid sick days per year for workers to recover from their own illness or to care for sick family members.
"The Ask": Support the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1843, S. 910).
10. Restore Rights to Challenge Pay Discrimination: Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in Ledbetter v. Goodyear that an employee facing pay discrimination has only 180 days from the issuing of the first paycheck containing the discriminatory wage to file a claim against the employer. This overturns years of policy on wage discrimination and makes it virtually impossible for employees to challenge pay discrimination. In her dissent, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg called on Congress to clarify the civil rights laws governing this issue to stem the damage. The House of Representatives passed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007, restoring employees' ability to challenge pay discrimination, but similar legislation is still pending in the Senate.
"The Ask": Support the Fair Pay Restoration Act, S. 1843.
