As President-Elect Obama and Congress continue to mull the economic recovery legislation expected to take shape in early 2009, advocacy organizations in Washington, D.C. and around the country are weighing in on what such legislation should include.
 
Obama has suggested that the economic recovery package will include millions of dollars for investments in infrastructure, transportation, and green building projects. He has stated a goal of creating or saving 2.5 million jobs at a time when unemployment rates are rising fast. Leaders in Congress are in the early stages of crafting a package to present to Obama once he takes office on January 20th.
 
Women Work! has worked closely with coalition partners to draft a letter to President-Elect Obama and Congress that urges them not to leave women out of the job creation (read it here). Specifically, the letter asks policymakers to ensure women's access to jobs on economic recovery projects by setting goals for women's participation in nontraditional fields, instituting training and support services, and funding programs that support working women and their families.
 
Add your voice by signing your organization on to the letter! Send your organization's name, city, and state to hluryi@womenwork.org by noon on Wednesday, December 17th.

The 110th Congress, which served from 2007 through 2008, had a mixed record on major legislation that supports working women. While they passed some laws that will help women achieve family-supporting employment, there is much left to be done. As this Congress is wrapping up its activity, it is time to take stock of some of those accomplishments and works in progress.
 
Successful Initiatives

• Minimum wage increase. In May of 2007, Congress legislated an increase in the federal minimum wage, the first since 1997. President Bush signed the legislation shortly after, which increases the minimum wage in three stages, ending with an hourly wage of $7.25 in 2009.

• Higher Education Opportunity Act. Congress passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which reauthorized federal higher education programs, in July of 2008; President Bush signed it shortly thereafter. The Act authorized increased funding for Pell Grants, the largest source of federal financial aid for students, and the Child Care Access Means Parents In Schools (CCAMPIS) program, which funds child care for low-income parenting students. The Act also created new pilot programs aimed at increasing college persistence and success. These pilot programs would provide support services, based on tested strategies, for parenting students and other special populations to help them complete their degrees or certificates.

Works in Progress

While the 110th Congress failed to come to a consensus on these issues, that doesn't mean they're off the table. Instead, expect to see them reappear in the 111th Congress.

• The Workforce Investment Act. WIA is still overdue for reauthorization, despite attempts to bring it up in the 110th Congress. However, we've seen hints that it may be picked up again early in the 111th Congress, and will continue to advocate for the needs of women in employment transition within the nation's workforce investment system.

• Pay equity legislation. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would reverse a 2007 Supreme Court decision that set back women's right to fight for equal pay, passed in the House but failed to pass in the Senate. The Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen the landmark 1964 Equal Pay Act, also passed in the House but never made it to a vote in the Senate. Despite these setbacks, advocates are looking to take up the fight again early in the next year.

• Funding levels. Appropriations for critical federal programs, including the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, WIA, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant, remained mostly static in the 110th Congress due to the inability of the Democratic-controlled Congress to come to an agreement with the Republican White House. The Fiscal Year 2008 budget, which was set to expire in October, has been extended until the next year, when legislators hope an agreement can be reached.

• Family leave. The Healthy Families Act, which would provide paid sick leave for American workers, gained over a hundred cosponsors in the House but failed to come to a vote.
  

The Economic Equity Insider is taking a break for the winter holidays. We will return with the new Congress in January 2009. We wish you a happy and healthy holiday season!