Women's Issues
By protecting women, we protect families. As a former co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, I have long fought to protect the rights of women, including full and equal economic opportunity through equitable pay and employment opportunities. In 6 in 10 families, a mother is the primary or co-breadwinner. The persistent gaps in wages and opportunities for women have limited the resources available for families to purchase homes, save for college, and save for retirements. I am dedicated to working to prevent violence against women and establish transitional housing for women and children who are victims of abuse. As a leading member of the Pro-Choice Caucus, I have also fought for reproductive freedom.
More on Women's Issues
During his State of the Union address last Thursday, President Joe Biden emphasized that America is a story of progress, possibilities, and resilience. He delivered a strong speech that detailed how far we have come under his leadership, the hurdles we have cleared, and his bold, optimistic vision for the future.
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), a Chief Deputy Whip and Ranking Member of the House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee, released the following statement after House passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, a package of six domestic funding bills focused on helping families and communities across the United States. The legislation will provide American families relief from the higher cost of living, combat climate change, and honor America’s commitments to its veterans and servicemembers.
Once again, House Democrats saved the day by helping pass a continuing resolution, averting a catastrophic shutdown of the government. A total of 106 Republicans, nearly half of the entire House Republican Conference, voted against the continuing resolution and were prepared for a government shutdown. This is now the third time that Democrats have stepped up to prevent a shutdown. With the passage of this legislation, we have extended the deadlines to pass our appropriations bills to March 1st and March 8th.
To finish out the legislative year in Washington, the House of Representatives voted on the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill authorizes a staggering $886 billion in new spending for the Department of Defense. Our greatest security threats have no military solutions, and it is time our budget reflected that. Therefore, I could not, in good faith, support its final passage.
It has been 24 days since Hamas’ horrifying terrorist attack on Israel, in which more than 1,400 Israelis were killed and over 5,400 injured. Hamas also captured over 200 hostages, including several Americans. Jewish communities around the world are in shock, grieving, and scared of the increased antisemitism and violence that have been spurred by the war. Israel has a right to defend itself and its citizens in accordance with international law.
Too many women have received an ‘all clear’ after a mammogram only to discover later that cancer was hidden by their dense breast tissue. Women with dense breasts are 4-5 times more likely to get breast cancer than those without dense breast tissue.
We must strengthen access to additional testing, to ensure that women with dense breasts can know for certain that they are cancer-free. I'm a proud cosponsor of Rep. Rosa DeLauro's Find It Early Act to ensure all health insurance plans cover screening and diagnostic breast imaging.
As a longtime consumer advocate, I have worked very closely with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is tasked with keeping the public safe from consumer products that pose an unreasonable risk of injury or death. In addition to its own work, the CPSC relies on online marketplaces, like Meta, to keep consumers safe by preventing the posting for sale of products that are known to be dangerous.
We need commonsense gun safety legislation to address America’s gun violence epidemic. Last week, I joined Vice President Kamala Harris, Moms Demand Action, and other gun safety advocates at Everytown for Gun Safety’s annual conference to demand greater action on gun control. Gun safety laws are vital to saving lives in our community and nationwide, and I am so thankful to the advocates in my district who are helping lead the charge. The conference took place the same day that Illinois’ Supreme Court upheld our ban on the sale of assault weapons. I am proud of my home state.