Congresswoman Waters Celebrates Women’s History Month

Today, Congresswoman Waters joined millions of Americans in marking the annual celebration of March as Women's History Month – a commemoration that has occurred in America since 1987.

"During Women's History Month, we celebrate the enormous progress that has been made for American women throughout our history and the women giants of our past who struggled, suffered and prevailed on behalf of the advancement of women," said Congresswoman Waters. "In the last several years, there have also been new gains for women. For example, there are now a record number of women serving in Congress – with 20 women now serving in the Senate and 81 women in the House."

"We should also use Women's History Month as a time to recommit ourselves to the further progress that must be made for America's women. Women continue to face special economic challenges. More than 64 percent of minimum-wage workers are women and on average women still make only 77 cents for every dollar made by men."

Now, women and their families face new challenges, with mindless, across-the-board cuts going into effect today on March 1. Unless these indiscriminate cuts are stopped, here are a few of the impacts on women and their families:

• SBA loans to women-owned small businesses will be reduced by $250 million and women entrepreneurs will also lose an estimated $1.3 billion in government contracts, jeopardizing the jobs of up to 15,000 of their employees.

• Up to 112,000 victims of domestic violence could lose access to domestic violence shelters and other services, due to a $29 million cut in domestic violence programs.

• About 600,000 women and children will be dropped from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides vital nutrition assistance and prenatal care.

• The parents of 30,000 children will lose essential help with their child care expenses, making it more difficult for them to hold a job.

• 25,000 low-income women who rely on CDC funding for their breast and cervical cancer screenings are at risk of losing their coverage.

• 70,000 children will lose access to Head Start.

• The education of tens of thousands of children will be put in jeopardy, with 2,700 schools losing Title I funding, putting at risk the jobs of 10,000 teachers.

I will continue to fight over the next several weeks and months to replace these damaging, indiscrimiate cuts that will hurt women and families with a balanced and responsible plan. I will also continue fighting to protect the gains women have made and support historic legislation to improve the lives of women and families across the country.

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