Womenstake

7 Questions with NWLC's Amy Matsui

by Jessica Lauredan, Outreach Intern
National Women’s Law Center

This post is part of a weekly series profiling our blog authors.

Amy Matsui is Senior Counsel on NWLC’s Family Economic Security team.

Q: The nomination of Richard Honaker to the federal District Court of Wyoming has brought about a wave of backlash. Why do you think so many people object to his nomination?

Amy: I think that many people are justifiably concerned that if he is confirmed, he won’t be impartial and fair, especially concerning abortion rights. He has a long record of anti-abortion advocacy, including drafting state legislation that would have effectively banned abortion in Wyoming. He’s also shown a disregard for Supreme Court precedents, including Roe v. Wade. We’re worried that the constitutional rights of women in Wyoming wouldn’t be fully protected if he were confirmed to a lifetime position on the federal courts.

If women would like to take steps to oppose his nomination, they should call or write to their Senators — they can take a look at some of our materials for more information.

Q: The women’s movement has long been concerned with equal access to employment and fair pay. How do you factor in the “next steps” to full equality such as increasing women-owned businesses, re-evaluating gender roles, and the balancing of domestic duties?

Amy: For me, the next step in the women’s movement is building on the progress that’s come about so far by making sure that women on all parts of the economic spectrum have real choices and flexibility. I don’t want to see any woman having to choose between safe, high-quality child care for their child, and getting the medical care they need, or saving for their retirement. I hope there will be a time where women of all income levels have equal access and real choices in their child care, their employment, and their finances.

Questions Remain About Controversial Judicial Nominee

by Amy Matsui, Senior Counsel
National Women's Law Center

As we mentioned in an earlier post, controversial judicial nominee Richard H. Honaker received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Because of his long history of hostility to women’s constitutional right to abortion, Honaker was asked whether he would rule fairly on abortion issues if confirmed.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, who chaired the hearing, said afterwards that she was not satisfied by Honaker’s answers to her questions. Senators are expected to submit written follow-up questions during the next two weeks, and a Committee vote on the nomination has not yet been scheduled. Stay tuned.

Don't Leave Money Lying on the Table This Tax Filing Season

by Amy Matsui, Senior Counsel
National Women's Law Center

Tax filing season is underway – and families should make sure they’re getting the credit they deserve. Low- and moderate-income families may be eligible for thousands of dollars in federal and state tax credits. And when we say “thousands of dollars,” we mean:

• Up to $2,100 from the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, which offsets child care or dependent care expenses for working families;
• Up to $4,716 from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit; and
• Up to $1,000 per eligible child from the federal Child Tax Credit.

And some states offer similar credits.

These credits can help families lower their taxes or increase their refunds. But families have to find out about these credits, file tax returns, and claim these credits on their returns in order to take advantage of them:

So check out www.nwlc.org/loweryourtaxes to find out about tax credits that can help families make ends meet during these tough times. And call the IRS at 1-800-TAX-1040 or visit www.irs.gov/individuals/topic to find out about getting free help preparing tax returns.

These tax credits may not get Wesley Snipes out of trouble, but they might make tax season a little easier for working families this year.

It's Never Too Late to Say You're Sorry -- Unless You're Leslie Southwick

by Amy Matsui

Recently, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for Fifth Circuit nominee Leslie Southwick.  Southwick was a judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals for 12 years.  During that time, he joined some pretty outrageous decisions.  For example, he joined an opinion ruling that an employee who had referred to another employee as a “good ole n*****” should not have been fired, because the employee was not motivated by racial hatred and because the use of this incredibly offensive racial slur was not sufficiently inflammatory or disruptive.  The Mississippi Supreme Court later unanimously overturned this decision.  In addition, Southwick joined a gratuitous concurrence in a custody case.  The majority had already denied custody to the child’s mother, who was bisexual and in a relationship with another woman, on a number of grounds (including the mother’s unstable financial situation in addition to the “stability of her home” and her “moral fitness”).  However, the concurrence focused exclusively on the mother’s sexual orientation in order to hammer home the point that what it called an individual’s “decision to participate in a homosexual relationship” has consequences (in Mississippi at least), including the possibility of losing custody of one’s child.

Southwick was asked about these cases at his hearing last week – specifically, whether he still stuck by those rulings or would make different choices if he had it to do all over again.  He stood by his decision to join the separate concurrence in the custody case.  With regard to the racial slur case, Southwick said he did not believe in “changing horses midstream,” but that if such a case came before him again, he would try to take into account how people are affected.  Not much of a surprise that our minds are not at ease.