Womenstake

Putting Women Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Accept a System That Insures More People, Lose Your Reproductive Rights

by Micole Allekotte, Health Fellow, 
National Women's Law Center 

Ezra Klein recently posted to his blog about how the Stupak amendment unfairly limits low- and middle-income women’s access to insurance plans that cover abortion. 

The House health reform bill creates an insurance exchange where people who receive government subsidies will go to choose among insurance plans. The Stupak amendment forbids plans that are offered to people who receive subsidies from covering abortion. This means that people receiving subsidies will not be able to buy a comprehensive insurance plan that covers abortion, even if the abortion coverage would have been paid for using the personal premium dollars and not the subsidies (which was the compromise reached before the Stupak amendment). Because most people will receive subsidies, insurance plans on the exchange will also be unlikely to offer a separate comprehensive plan that covers abortion for non-subsidized individuals, so even people who do not receive subsidies at all may not be able to find a plan that covers abortion on the exchange. 

Mr. Klein’s post reminded me of three thoughts:

1) Low income women already get no respect when it comes to being allowed to make reproductive decisions. All women should have the right to make whatever decision is best for themselves and their families. But Medicaid doesn’t cover abortions because of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from being used for abortion except in extremely narrow exceptions. Only 17 states use their own funds to cover all medically necessary abortions for women on Medicaid. Health reform makes many more women eligible for Medicaid, which means more women will have health insurance, but at the expense of the government taking the power to make personal decisions away from women.

Unemployment Rises, Especially Among Single Moms, but Some Help Is on the Way

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security,
and Valerie Norton, Public Policy Fellow,
National Women's Law Center

Unemployment rose to 10.2 percent in October, reaching a 26-year high, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the unemployment rate among men is higher than among women, 10.7 percent compared to 8.1 percent, both rates rose last month and are at their highest levels in decades.

Especially worrisome is the unemployment rate for women who head families. At 12.9 percent, it’s higher than the rate for men or women -- and it jumped by 11 percent in one month to reach its highest level in 26 years. Even before the sharp rise in unemployment this year, more than one in three (37.2 percent) female-headed families with children were poor in 2008. Women of color also continue to experience high rates of unemployment: 12.4 percent for Black women and 10.4 percent for Hispanic women.

In the face of these statistics, we’re relieved that a bill extending unemployment insurance benefits made it through Congress and was signed by President Obama today after being stalled for weeks in the Senate . The measure provides additional weeks of assistance to those who have exhausted their unemployment insurance benefits: up to 14 weeks in every state, and up to six more weeks in states with unemployment above 8.5 percent.

The extended benefits are particularly important because, according to the National Employment Law Project, more than 600,000 out-of-work people have exhausted their benefits in the past two months. Moreover, long term unemployment (six months or more) is at its highest level since records have been kept, and over one-third of jobless women (37.6%) and men (38.3%) have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.

To be eligible for extended benefits, a jobless worker first must qualify for unemployment insurance. Many women and low-wage workers face barriers to unemployment insurance coverage – but fortunately, some of these barriers are coming down, as about half the states have taken advantage of incentives in the Recovery Act to modernize their unemployment insurance systems. States have until August 2011 to enact the reforms that will qualify them for federal funds, but the sooner they act, the sooner workers will get the unemployment insurance benefits they need and deserve.

High unemployment – especially long-term unemployment – has lasting consequences for women and their families. The additional unemployment insurance benefits approved today will provide indispensable assistance, and the Recovery Act is helping to preserve and create jobs and deliver help to struggling families and communities. But in the face of this unemployment crisis and predictions that unemployment and poverty will remain high for many months, more is needed to create jobs and promote a shared recovery.

Anti-Tax, Anti-Government Referenda Go Down to Defeat

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security,
National Women's Law Center

Times are tough –- and paying taxes is never very popular. So it’s particularly notable that the two referenda sponsored by anti-tax activists to limit state and local taxes and spending were soundly defeated in Maine and Washington State. Local business leaders joined advocates in educating voters about the impact the referenda would have on the education, health care, transportation, public safety, and other services their state and local tax dollars support –- and large majorities voted to protect those services.

Tea baggers may make noise and headlines. But the results in Maine and Washington -- and in the 20 other states that have rejected similar spending limits since 2004, tell a different story about what the public really values. We hope the media will start paying attention.

How to Make Social Security Even Better

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security, 
National Women's Law Center 

Are you among the nine out of ten Americans who agree that “Social Security benefits are more important than ever to ensure that retirees have a dependable income when they retire,” as a poll released this summer found? Are you frustrated (as I am) by the continuing efforts to portray Social Security as a budget problem that needs to be solved, rather than the foundation of retirement security for most Americans that should be strengthened? If so, you’ll appreciate a new report released today by the National Academy of Social Insurance. The report lays out a set of options for making Social Security more adequate and solvent for the next 75 years.

The adequacy of Social Security benefits is a crucial issue –- especially for women, who are more reliant than men on income from Social Security and are more likely to be poor. The report outlines several approaches, with cost estimates, for improving benefits for vulnerable beneficiaries:

• Increasing benefits for the oldest old (over 85)
• Increasing benefits for widowed spouses of low-earning couples (get for more information about this proposal) 
• Credit for caregiving
• Improved minimum benefits for long-service, low-paid workers
• Restoring benefits for students up to age 22

And, because average benefits are modest (the average retired-worker benefit in January 2009 was $13,680 per year), and the financial crisis has exposed and heightened the risks that older Americans face to their retirement security, the report also looks at options for improving benefits across the board.

The report also outlines options, with cost estimates, for closing the long-term shortfall in Social Security and financing benefit improvements.

I hope the report will help spark a new kind of debate about the future of Social Security.  But I wish they’d come up with a different title for the report. It’s called, “Fixing Social Security:  Adequate Benefits, Adequate Financing.” Social Security is about the only part of our retirement system that isn’t broken; defined benefit pensions are disappearing, and many of those that remain are weak; retirement savings are vulnerable to the risks of the market and our system of tax incentives gives the most help to those who need it least. So, by all means, let’s talk about improving, strengthening – but not fixing, please.

87 -13, Senate Votes to Consider Unemployment Insurance Extension

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security, 
National Women's Law Center 

It’s not over yet -– tonight’s Senate victory was on a procedural vote. But the overwhelming 87-13 vote to break a filibuster and allow the Senate to consider the unemployment insurance extension bill we described earlier is very encouraging.  

Objections by a couple of Senators delayed the unemployment insurance extension bill for weeks. But tonight, all Senators had to stand up and be counted on whether they would continue to block consideration of a bill that would provide help to jobless workers whose unemployment insurance benefits are running out. In the end, only 13 Senators voted to block consideration of this crucial measure.  

The Senate still has to vote on the final bill, so unemployed workers will have to wait a little longer. But, tonight, it looks like help will be on the way.

Take Action: Stand Up for Struggling Families

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security, 
National Women's Law Center 

Imagine...

First you lose your job. Then you find out you're about to lose the one lifeline that's keeping your family afloat — your unemployment insurance.

Sadly, that's the reality for hundreds of thousands of American families. Every day that Congress fails to extend unemployment insurance benefits, benefits run out for thousands of workers. This month alone, 200,000 jobless workers will exhaust their unemployment benefits; by the end of December, the number is expected to reach 1.3 million.   

That's why we need your help.

Support the extension of unemployment benefits by contacting your Senators today!

The Senate is considering a bill that would provide 14 weeks of extended benefits in every state, and an additional 6 weeks of benefits in states with high rates of unemployment above 8.5 percent. The bill also would encourage states to let victims of sexual assault, as well as victims of domestic violence, qualify for unemployment benefits if they had to leave a job. But some Senators have stalled action on the bill for weeks.

Please urge your Senators to support an immediate extension of unemployment benefits.

Bipartisanship Lives, At Least When It Comes to Protecting Child Support

Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security,   
National Women's Law Center   

Yesterday, the Child Support Protection Act of 2009, S. 1859, was introduced by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).  The bill would permanently restore funding cut from the child support enforcement program by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.  It was co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Herbert Kohl (D-WI) and two Republican Senators.  You can probably guess one:  yes, it’s Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine.  But you might not expect the other:  Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who co-sponsored a similar bill with Senator Rockefeller in the previous Congress.

The child support program provides vital services to over 17 million children.  In 2008, it collected $26.6 billion in owed child support, recovering $4.79 for every dollar invested in the program.  Over the past 10 years, collection rates have doubled, thanks to reforms enacted by Congress with strong bipartisan support.  Congress established strong standards for state programs and gaves states the incentives – and the resources – to steadily improve their performance. 

This progress was threatened when funding for child support enforcement was cut by 20 percent by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.  Fortunately, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act restored the funding – but only through September 30, 2010.  The Child Support Protection Act of 2009 would reverse the cuts and restore the funding permanently.

We applaud Senators Rockefeller, Kohl, Snowe and Cornyn for coming together to protect child support.  We hope their colleagues on both sides of the aisle join in this effort – and on other initiatives vital to women and their families.

Thousands Are Losing Unemployment Benefits Every Day the Senate Delays

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security, 
and Valerie Norton, Public Policy Fellow, 
National Women's Law Center 

The stock market may be up, but the labor market is still in deep trouble – and hundreds of thousands of women and men whose unemployment benefits are running out and still cannot find jobs are feeling desperate. 

Unemployment rates among men (10.3%) and women (7.8%) are higher than they have been in decades, as we reported here earlier this month. Unemployment among women who maintain families is even higher, at 11.6%.  And long-term unemployment – six months or more – is at its highest level since such records have been kept.  Over one-third of jobless women (37.2%) and men (37.8%) have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.  

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in February, took important steps to extend unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for the long-term unemployed and increase weekly benefits. It also provided incentives for states to modernize their UI systems and expand coverage for low-wage workers and women -- and more than half the states have taken advantage of those incentives. But the additional weeks of benefits provided by the Recovery Act are already running out. The National Employment Law Project estimates that this month alone, 200,000 workers will exhaust their extended UI benefits, and 1.3 million will do so by the end of the year.

Last month, the House passed a bill to extend UI benefits for 13 weeks in states with unemployment rates of 8.5% or higher. A more expansive bill was introduced in the Senate. It would provide 14 weeks of extended benefits in all states, and an additional 6 weeks of benefits in states with high unemployment. The Senate bill also provides incentives to states to allow people who had to leave a job because they were the victims of sexual assault to qualify for unemployment benefits (the Recovery Act already provides incentives to states to provide UI coverage to victims of domestic violence). 

Although Senators from both parties have expressed support for extending UI benefits, attempts to bring up the bill quickly in the Senate have been blocked for a couple of weeks by objections from some Republican Senators. Last night, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a cloture petition to end the filibuster. This will allow the bill to come up for a vote – if 60 Senators agree to put the needs of struggling families first.

The Woman Who Got It Right

by Rachel Peck, Family Economic Security Fellow, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Tomorrow night, you have the chance to watch a fascinating television interview. We have all felt the effects of the economic crisis in many ways. Some of us have lost jobs or homes, others have seen retirement savings shrink, while others of us have been trying to figure out how we can cut our budgets and make ends meet. If you want to learn how our nation ended up in this economic crisis and what we could have done to prevent it, you should check out Frontline’s new program, “The Warning,” that will air this Tuesday at 9 p.m. on PBS. 

Frontline interviewed Brooksley Born, former head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (and, I’m proud to say, current Chair of NWLC’s Board of Directors), and NWLC Co-President Nancy Duff Campbell about Born’s failed efforts to regulate the derivatives market. Born attempted to speak out about the problems in the market that led to our economic crisis but no one would listen to her warnings and some actively fought against her efforts. 

While many economists have looked back with hindsight to see how we could have prevented the economic crisis, Born was one of the few people who saw what was happening at the time and tried to prevent it. In 2009, Born was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award for her efforts in fighting against Wall Street and will be honored at the National Women’s Law Center annual dinner as well. So take a break from watching “Dancing With the Stars” or the baseball playoffs and watch this fascinating program about a woman who tried to save our economy — and the men who wouldn’t take her seriously.

Free Training on Tax Credits for Working Families

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security, 
National Women's Law Center 

Did you know that federal tax credits for families have been expanded and are now more valuable than ever? We're not talking about a few dollars more for families, we're talking about potentially thousands of dollars.

But unfortunately, millions of families don’t even know to ask for the credits they are eligible for.

That’s why your help is needed to spread the word. And to give you the information and tools you need, we are offering two free webinar trainings. In these free trainings, you'll learn about family tax credits and get access to free easy to use resources.

Register today for these important training webinars:

Part I — Tax Credits: What Working Families Need to Know
Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (1 hour)

Get the facts about how tax credits can give working families a leg up, and learn how to help spread the word.

Part II - Tax Credits Outreach: Tips and Tools for Service Providers and Advocates
Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (1 hour)

You can make a big difference for families by making sure families get the information they need.  Learn about simple outreach activities that can make a major impact, often building on other networks and campaigns that can make a big difference for working families. This webinar will help you:

• Get free outreach materials;
• Connect with local materials;
• Find free tax preparation services in your community; and
• Learn some successful techniques for spreading the word about tax credits.

Register today! These online sessions are free to participants, but registration is required.

Although we recommend that you register for both sessions so you can get the most out of the series, if you have time constraints, you can sign up separately for either the Nov. 10 webinar. 

These webinars are part of the National Women's Law Center's Citi Education Series on Family Economic Security and the Tax Credits Outreach Campaign.