…Was nothing short of amazing.
Because of you: Women will have access to contraception in new health insurance plans — without co-pays — and attempts to defund family planning were stopped. Because of you: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other key social safety net programs were spared automatic cuts under the federal debt ceiling deal. Because of you: We helped secure nationwide protections against retaliation in the workplace, rights for pregnant and parenting students in Michigan, and educational equity for female student athletes in Oldham County, Kentucky. Throughout the year, we’ve been honored to work with you to expand the possibilities for women and their families so that, as President Obama said at the Center’s Annual Awards Dinner just weeks ago, our children can “go out into a world where there is no limit to how big they can dream and how high they can reach.” But we have little time to rest on our laurels — 2012 won’t be easy. Will you help? The coming year will see the Affordable Care Act go before the Supreme Court, where we’ll be fighting to protect the law and ensure that being a woman cannot be a preexisting condition again. With millions of Americans living in poverty and facing long-term unemployment, powerful forces in Congress will STILL lobby for tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of jobs and programs vital to women and their families. And of course, women STILL earn on average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, showing the clear need for the Paycheck Fairness Act. Will you help us? Please consider a very generous contribution to the Center — your gift will be doubled by a match from the Center’s Board of Directors and Leadership 35 Committee. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you more about what we’ve done together this year and what 2012 is likely to bring. In the meantime, please help us start our 40th year stronger than ever before. Thank you again for all the help you give and all the work you do on behalf of women and families. Sincerely, |
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P.S. Remember, your gift will be matched thanks to the generosity of our Board and Leadership 35 Committee. Please help today! |
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Tag Archives: Medicaid
Let’s Talk Turkey about the Super-Committee …National Women’s Law Center
Politics might not be on the Thanksgiving menu, but when families and friends gather, it seems to be a side dish some of us are force fed. We want to give you something to be thankful for by making sure you’re prepared to talk about what women and families have at stake in the economy and the truth about what happened with the super-committee. Remember that the super-committee was a special committee of Members of Congress created to come up with a plan to reduce the federal deficit over the next decade. Last night, the super-committee announced that it did not reach agreement on a deficit reduction plan. To explain what this means for you — and Aunt Edith — below are a few key myths and facts. |
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MYTH: It would have been better if the super-committee reached a deal.FACT: No deal is better than a bad deal — and we were headed toward a bad deal. The fact that some members of the super-committee felt a strong enough obligation to protect the programs that women and families depend on is incredibly important. Had key safety net programs like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare been cut in a last-minute deal, the damage could have been irreparable. For more info, check out our latest blog post: Five Reasons Why No Deal is Better than a Bad Deal. | |||
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MYTH: I heard Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare will automatically be cut.FACT: The automatic cuts do not reach Social Security, Medicaid, or many other programs for low-income Americans. Any Medicare cuts would affect payments to providers, not beneficiaries. The automatic cuts that are scheduled would affect defense and non-defense programs equally. Unfortunately, discretionary programs that specifically serve low-income people are not exempt. However, the cuts won’t start to take effect until 2013, so Congress has time make changes through the regular legislative process. | |||
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MYTH: The super-committee didn’t reach a deal and important programs were protected — so our advocacy worked! We don’t need to worry anymore.FACT: We still have lots to do. We need to work to extend federal emergency unemployment benefit programs and pass job creation measures. We need to fund the government through the rest of this fiscal year, without strings attached that limit women’s rights. And the fight to make millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share and to protect Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and other vital programs will continue. So enjoy, rest up — and join us next week. | |||
| This Thanksgiving, we could not be more grateful for the dedication of our network of activists like you, who took action to send emails and make phone calls throughout the super-committee’s deliberations.While the super-committee’s work has ended, our work for a fair economy continues. We couldn’t do it without you.National Women’s Law Center | ||||
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AFL – CIO
Republicans on the so-called Super Committee have proposed cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits that America’s working families depend on—while keeping Bush’s tax rates for the richest Americans, including the top 1%. This is Robin Hood in reverse—class warfare against working America on behalf of the top 1%. And it’s deficit hypocrisy, too. You can’t use budget deficits as an excuse to cut middle-class benefits one minute and the next minute propose making the deficit worse by lowering tax rates for rich people. After all, the Bush tax cuts are the No. 1 reason projected deficits are so high over the next 10 years. If we want to bring down the federal deficit, we have to start by letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire on schedule. Haven’t Republicans noticed that Americans are fed up with politicians who constantly cater to the demands of the 1%? This is the same kind of tone-deaf overreaching that voters in Ohio overwhelmingly rejected last week. The debt reduction Super Committee that’s considering these cuts is no ordinary congressional committee. It is empowered by law to propose legislation that cannot be amended and can be rammed through Congress quickly, with minimal debate. And since it looks like every single Republican on the Super Committee is ready to sell out working families, we need every single Super Committee Democrat to stand strong and protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Working families are counting on all six Democrats—Sens. Patty Murray, John Kerry and Max Baucus, and Reps. Chris Van Hollen, James Clyburn and Xavier Becerra—to stand with the 99% of Americans who are demanding change. It’s shameful that Republicans on this committee are united in representing America’s wealthiest 1% instead of their constituents. Let’s hope these six Democrats stand together and prove that Congress is capable of standing up for the rest of us. In Solidarity, Richard Trumka |
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a message from rep. Raul M. Grijalva
You know just how hard things are right now, but the Super Committee either doesn’t understand — or just doesn’t care.
Today, as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), I held a hearing today with some of the country’s top economists to talk about the importance of job creation and protecting our social safety net. We invited the members of the deficit reduction “Super Committee” — but none of them showed up.
Rather than asking the 1% to pay their fair share, the Super Committee is going after the vital programs that make America strong — these cuts would have a drastic impact on the health and financial security of far too many Americans.
Join me and my friends at Democracy for America in telling them we will stand strong — no cuts to Medicare and Medicaid benefits. http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/1323?akid=1506.1480546.9jy123&t=1
Over the past several months, I have offered constructive recommendations for deficit reduction while stressing the need to put Americans back to work — there are real solutions to our debt crisis that don’t hurt the 99%.
Congress’s top priority must be job creation. The Super Committee should be listening to the working people of this nation who reject proposed austerity measures.
They should be asking the 1% to pay their fair share.
In this economic crisis, the last thing we should be talking about is slashing the program that provides health coverage for our seniors and the most vulnerable.
We must leave Medicare and Medicaid benefits off the table.
Let’s send a message so loud the Super Committee can’t ignore it — join me and almost 100,000 Democracy for America Members to say — no cuts to Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
It’s time to focus on fair solutions. Together we can stand up for the 99%. http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/1323?akid=1506.1480546.9jy123&t=2
Peace,
– Raúl
Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva
Co-Chair, Congressional Progressive Caucus
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Breaking News: Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Health Care Law
You’ve probably seen news reports on the lawsuits challenging the health care law across the country. Two courts of appeals have held that the health care law is constitutional, while one has disagreed. Today, the Supreme Court announced it will hear two of these cases and issue a decision by June 2012.
To make clear what’s at stake, I’ve recorded a short video explaining the legal challenges, why we think the law is constitutional, and what women could lose if the law is struck down.
Click to watch our video about the health care law litigation.
The health care law puts an end to insurance companies‘ practice of treating women like a pre-existing condition. Already, the law is helping women and their families by making it illegal for insurance companies to drop people once they get sick, prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions, and ensuring that new health plans provide no-cost preventive health care services such as mammograms and pap smears. By 2014, it will expand Medicaid coverage to 8.2 million more women, guarantee maternity coverage, and end the practice of charging women more than men for the same insurance. All of this and more is at stake in the Supreme Court.
Once you’ve watched the video, please visit our special page dedicated to keeping you up-to-date on the latest news about the health care law litigation.Thanks for all you do for women and families.
http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=O1L5xqvxpetjLj_CH-OqLQ
Sincerely,
Emily J. Martin
Vice President and General Counsel
National Women’s Law Center
Be a Seed for Change 
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