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Well Done, Everyone
Today the House voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). First signed into law in 1994, the bill has twice been reauthorized with bipartisan support. New provisions added by the Senate in the last Congress -- expanded protections for gays and lesbians, Native Americans and undocumented immigrants -- prevented its approval in the House.
Today's vote is a reminder of the very real difference policy can make in people's lives. It demonstrates the power of practical and bipartisan problem-solving, of hundreds of thousands of men and women making their voices heard in D.C. The power of civic engagement.
That's why OWL's 2013 Mother's Day Campaign will focus on broadening the base of women in the world of 21st century civic engagement. OWL believes strongly that more participation by women - from local school boards to the halls of Congress to the State Department --will help break through the current logjams and change the tone of our policy debates.
Here's one logjam we can work on now!
Although Caitlin Halligan's nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals -- widely considered the second most important court in the country -- has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, a final vote is being blocked. Call your senators now and ask them to vote for cloture to ensure that she receives an up or down vote. A vote is expected next week. Reach your senators through the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202.224.3121
(Learn why courts are so important to women here.)
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________________________________________ OWL in the News in "Key Long-Term-Care Insurer To Raise Women's Premiums"
Michelle Andrews writes in Kaiser Health News that Genworth Financial, one of the nation's largest providers of long-term-care (LTC) insurance, has announced it will begin setting its prices this spring by gender.
Unlike other health insurance providers, LTC's are exempt from the Affordable Care Act prohibitions that will take effect in 2014 against gender-based premiums. However, Genworth also announced it would not be changing pricing in the two states --- Colorado and Montana - that have state prohibitions against gender pricing disparity for all health insurance products.
OWL Policy Committee Chair Donna Wagner, the associate dean for academic affairs at the College of Health and Social Services at New Mexico State University, is quoted in the article saying that this is an opportunity for advocates.
"Any state with a strong advocacy group could be advocating for a very broad-based prohibition against gender rating" in all insurance products, she said.
Other LTC providers are expected to follow suit.
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Must-Read Column Shatters Myth of "Generational Theft"
Writing in the Los Angeles Times yesterday, columnist Michael Hiltzik points out that the divide and conquer tactics being used today to undermine support for Social Security and Medicare are nothing new.
He describes it as "a fundamental piece of a decades-long campaign to distract Americans into thinking that the threat to their way of life comes from a war of old against young."
He points out that payroll taxes have more than covered what today's average retiree gets from Social Security, and that some proposed changes to Medicare, like raising the eligibility age, would cost money, not save it. (In fact, Time magazine's recent article "Bitter Pill" shows where the real cost issues are in our healthcare system.) ___________________________________ For more myths and facts about Social Security, visit the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare website.
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