DEMOCRATIC WOMEN IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPUDIATE INAPPROPRIATE REMARKS ABOUT SINGLE MOTHERS BY TOM DELAY

FEBRUARY 10, 2004

DEMOCRATIC WOMEN IN THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES REPUDIATE INAPPROPRIATE REMARKS ABOUT
SINGLE MOTHERS BY TOM DELAY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today joined other Democratic women in the House of Representatives in repudiating inappropriate remarks about single mothers by Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). It was reported today in Roll Call that DeLay said during a television interview: "A woman can take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability. Not that a woman can't provide stability, I'm not saying that... It does take a father, though."

Below is the text of a letter to DeLay spearheaded by U.S. Representatives Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Hilda Solis (D-CA), Chair and Co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues:

February 10, 2004
The Honorable Tom DeLay
House Majority Leader
242 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear House Majority Leader Delay:

We are writing to express our profound disappointment with the comments that you reportedly made during an interview, as repeated today in an article in Roll Call ("Hammering Women," pp. 1, 15). According to this article, you are quoted as saying:

"A woman can take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability. Not that a woman can't provide stability, I'm not saying that... It does take a father, though."

We believe that your remarks dismissing single mothers' capabilities reflect a deeply held bias and explain your efforts, as House Majority Leader, to weaken federal initiatives that provide women with vital support to strengthen their families.

As you are aware, the weak economy has caused tremendous job losses and increased long-term unemployment, especially among single moms. The unemployment rate among low-income single mothers increased from 9.8 percent in 2000 to 12.3 percent in 2002, a faster rate than the national unemployment rate. However, instead of showing compassion for the single mothers who are struggling to provide for their families, you have waged a continuing campaign against their interests.

For example, during the difficult economy over the last few years, you have supported raising the work-hour requirement under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to 40 hours for thousands of mothers supporting families, even though few new jobs have been created. At the same time, you oppose sufficient childcare funding. Instead, last year you advocated a paltry $1 billion increase - $10 billion short of what the states would actually need. Moreover, you support an unproven $1.5 billion marriage promotion scheme at the expense of safety-net programs that are already significantly under-funded. In addition, you advocate weakening programs critical to single mothers through your positions on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and other initiatives.

As Members of Congress who admire the strength and hard work that single mothers devote everyday to supporting and caring for their families - including providing their families with structure and stability - we remain deeply committed to supporting single mothers and their families within our country. Studies have shown that families fare better when single mothers succeed in securing steady work, healthcare, decent wages, childcare and other vital supports.

We hope that you will reconsider your views on single mothers and your positions on federal programs that would help them.

Sincerely,

Louise M. Slaughter Hilda L. Solis
Tammy Baldwin Corinne Brown
Linda Sanchez Barbara Lee
Marcy Kaptur Diana DeGette
Carolyn Maloney Rosa DeLauro
Maxine Waters Jan Schakowsky
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Zoe Lofgren
Lucille Roybal-Allard
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