Will All-Male Congressional Stimulus Conference Restore Cuts To Programs Benefiting Women?
Will All-Male Congressional Stimulus Conference Restore Cuts To Programs Benefiting Women?
Today, Congress announced the House and Senate lawmakers who will be serving as conferees to work out the final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The list:
SENATE: Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), Appropriations Committee Vice-Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS), and Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA)
HOUSE: Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI)
Missing from this list? Women lawmakers.
These conferees are the chairman and ranking members of the relevant committees, and just happen to be men. But it underscores how important it is for these lawmakers to be extra vigilant in making sure that programs benefiting women and children don’t face the brunt of the cuts. Already, as ThinkProgress has previously reported, such provisions have been the first to go:
– After conservatives went after a provision funding comprehensive family planning services, President Obama agreed to strip it from the bill.
– Obama also agreed to shelve a $335 million provision to fund sexually transmitted disease education and prevention programs, which came under heavy attacks from the right wing.
– The Senate bill put together by the so-called “Gang of Moderates” disproportionately cut programs that target women and children, including Head Start, Violence Against Women, school improvement, and food stamps.
Having women conferees wouldn’t necessarily ensure better results, unfortunately. After all, Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins were key players in devising the “centrist” cuts to the Senate bill.
But the line-up of conferees does highlight how important it is to make sure there are progressive women in leadership positions in the House and the Senate. The Speaker of the House, of course, is Nancy Pelosi, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the cuts to health care, education, and other programs in Senate bill. Also not coincidentally, the House version that went through under her leadership was far more progressive and allocated funding for programs that would benefit working class families.
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Will All-Male Congress Stimulate Women?
February 11th, 2009 at 2:39 pmThat looks more like the Dirty Dozen.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:41 pmOnce again, women get the shaft.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:43 pm.
Nothing says supporting women like the good old boys club.
.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:47 pmMatt, SOD, Ignorance…
whilst this thread is still short,,, always good to see you guys, sterling work and stuff (it’s awards season you know!)
Okay, that is all, move along, nothing to see here.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:48 pmI’d be more impressed if the conference committees were made up of Progressives, regardless of gender. And it’s always nice to see a complete a-hole like Jerry Lewis included.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:49 pmOh come on folks. Yeah, all the players are guys but to assume men are incapable of caring about womens rights is every bit as sexist. I know of at least one member of this bunch who views constituents as being American citizens…period.
This gender issue is truly a double edged sword. Time to dull both sides.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:49 pmsee dammit, that includes Max-1 now… I should give up on this appreciation thing!
February 11th, 2009 at 2:49 pmAs a woman I would be happier to have Ted Kennedy on this panel than just about any woman.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:51 pmAmanda, thanks for posting about this. Does anyone think that if Collins and Snowe negotiated like the men of their political party that we’d even get to this spot? A lot of literature is out there, right now, being highlighted, about the benefits of having women in leadership positions.
Everyone should stop being so defensive about the fact that historical discrimination has brought us to this point, and instead just embrace that it does not have to be that way – if we keep encouraging, developing and pulling in from the pipeline.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:52 pmAlso, why not complain that there aren’t any blacks (I didn’t check to see if any were), Asian, Hispanic, gay, Muslim, vegan, Zoroastrian or Coptic.
Yeah, Congress tends to be a good ole boys club but there are a few who are capable.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:53 pmWhen gender and race become non-issues, perhaps we can address religion.
Religion is, has and will be the direct cause of war. Even though 1 commandment states ‘Thou Shall Not Kill’, every religious group on Earth finds ways to justify killing. If mankind can get past religion, we may just have a chance at surviving.
Sorry to go off topic, but see this as related…
February 11th, 2009 at 2:57 pm$335 million, not billion. Although that would be a better expenditure than another bank bailout.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:57 pmI’m willing to bet that most of the regulars here could do a fine job of that regardless of their personal orientation.
Im throwing in with Hoodathunk on this. There’s enough going on in our country to get worked up about, this shouldn’t raise anyone’s blood pressure.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:57 pmHoodathunk…. but you have to admit that record suggests that whatever prejudices might be in play (other than sexism), women seem to have gotten the right to vote, (1920), Roe V Wade (1973), Equal Employiment(Part of Civil Rights 14) and now the LeadBetter Act and all have been a major struggle.
Which makes me think! If Hillary had become President would she have been paid 20% less than Bush or Obama? And how come female congresspeople get the same as men, but in general every other working woman doesn’t?
February 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm5th Estate Says: And how come female congresspeople get the same as men, but in general every other working woman doesn’t?
Because we still, as a nation, have this innate compulsion to segregate, divide based on whatever weird ass compulsion our religious/ethnic based ideology dictates?
February 11th, 2009 at 3:02 pmI have no problem with this as long as they form an all-female committee to discuss whether or not Viagra et al should be paid for by taxpayers via Medicare and Medicaid, or included in private insurance coverage when birth control is not.
Medicaid – birth control pills: NO
Medicaid – hard-on meds: YES
PEACE
February 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pmDeebaser wrote:
“There’s enough going on in our country to get worked up about, this shouldn’t raise anyone’s blood pressure.”
Our DNA might be 99% the same, but in that 1% variation is where my blood pressure goes up when yours doesn’t. I can live with that.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pmA significant percentage of the male representatives in this conference do not have a very good record for looking out for men either.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:04 pmAs long as we view people through the various lens of tradition and refuse to know people are people, we will be divided.
The man who developed the process for providing plasma as a universal for people needing blood by separating out the various incompatible aspects of type died after an accident because the southern hospital he was taken to was whites only.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:07 pmLet’s see what comes out of the conference. Good ole boys club better take care of the distaff business.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:08 pmIt’s worth noting that 82% of job losses in this recession have befallen men. Women may pass men in workforce participation due to this. If we are to direct the stimulus to those who need it most, than that group is men.
As Layoffs Surge, Women May Pass Men in Job Force [nytimes.com]
February 11th, 2009 at 3:11 pmhoodathunk: Because we still, as a nation, have this innate compulsion to segregate, divide based on whatever weird ass compulsion our religious/ethnic based ideology dictates?
Sounds about right. I’d suggest its because of the way America and then the United States was formed.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:12 pm(AND BTW IMHO the South pretty obviously never stopped fighting the Civil War–only the venue and the weapons changed).
“There’s enough going on in our country to get worked up about, this shouldn’t raise anyone’s blood pressure.”
Anyone else feel the condescending head patting going on?
“Don’t worry, girls, we promise we won’t even notice when you’re being completely excluded and ignored. There are so many MORE! IMPORTANT! things to worry about than your silly health and well-being. Enjoy hanging on the bumper of bus!”
February 11th, 2009 at 3:13 pmGiven that many other countries have far more women in their legislatures and that many other countries have a far higher standard of women’s human rights than we do in the U.S. continuing to rely on the same old group of old white guys to change that is myopic I think. The fact is that women have every right to be equally represented at the table and their needs equally considered. I don’t see that happening with this so-called stimulus bill. Here is my take on the subject, The Girls’ Guide To The Economy Part 8–There are NO Women On The Stimulus Conference Committee.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm“If we are to direct the stimulus to those who need it most, than that group is men.”
And those stupid chicks making $0.77 to every dollar should be damn glad they’ve got their shit jobs too!
Is it nice living in male privilege land, bob?
February 11th, 2009 at 3:15 pmEndor Says: “Don’t worry, girls, we promise we won’t even notice when you’re being completely excluded and ignored. There are so many MORE! IMPORTANT! things to worry about than your silly health and well-being. Enjoy hanging on the bumper of bus!”
Case in point. Fifty years ago there weren’t a lot of women, minorities, gays and whatever in Congress. Today there are some. In the future there will be more. Change never happens quickly enough for some. All people different from you are not evil.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:19 pmYou’re reading a bit much into a sentiment that isn’t there. It’s the conferencing for the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”. This isn’t about including token gender representation, this is about fixing our economy.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:25 pmFor Medicare it isn’t. I don’t know about birth control for Medicare and I honestly don’t want to look it up. When I found out Viagra speficially was not covered I had geriatrerotic nightmares for about a week.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:27 pmdeebaser, you shouldn’t have used the word token.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:27 pmehh…im already in trouble anyway. =D
February 11th, 2009 at 3:29 pmEndor, I have never read any of your posts here at TP but I have read plenty of deebaser’s, who does not come across as a condescending, chauvanist pig. Could you be bringing your own bias into this discussion?
February 11th, 2009 at 3:32 pmdeebaser, we be in the same boat. Your post on viagra vrs birth control is interesting. BC is covered by Medicare/Medicaid and rightfully so because it can do more than just prevent pregnancy. Viagra has only one function and it has no medical value beyond the psychological.
Its odd that men suffer from this ED problem and of course it is a medically based affliction. I have yet to see any study about the psychological aspects of why older men fail to find women attractive enough to express their desire in a physical fashion.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:39 pmTime Out for Grammar
I searched for “adjective” beforehand, in case someone else pointed this out: “woman” is a noun; “female” is an adjective; the correct term is “female,” when used to describe a characteristic of a noun (in this case, “lawmakers”).
Thus, female lawmakers, conferees, or whatever. There’s no pejorative connotation to “female lawmakers,” is there? Nothing wrong with being female, right? So use the adjectival already!
February 11th, 2009 at 4:37 pmI am severely disappointed. At least the low class trolls stick around for a couple of hits. I was hoping the feminists were made of sterner stuff.
February 11th, 2009 at 4:50 pmI don’t know, Hooda – I think anyone who can recognize when people are writing comments just to be provocative and knows to leave it alone is a very efficient decision-maker.
February 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pmJerry Lewis, this criminal clown, should be in jail.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:24 pmSusan Collins is such a loser.I do not understand why the people of Maine chose her over Tom Allen, a good man.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:59 pm.
Figures Susan Collins is chosen as the tolkin female lawmaker to address the ABCNNBCBS&FOXPRAVDA press…
… NO?
.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:59 am*sigh*
Benefit
February 12th, 2009 at 12:40 pmWhy are there government funded programs that exclusively Benefiting Women?
February 12th, 2009 at 12:40 pmYou mean like reproductive health? Yeah, that’s a puzzler!
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