What would President Hillary do for women?

Hillary Clinton gets a generous portion of the women’s vote.

New research from the University of Wisconsin suggests that issues and the candidate her- or himself are more important to women voters than candidates’ chromosomal makeup. But are her supporters really focusing on issues—or campaigning style?

Do some women support her just because of her gender?

Don’t many assume simplistically that this Clinton will govern with women’s best interests just because she is one? That’s not the case for all female heads of state.

So how would a President Hillary Clinton serve her female constituency? Or try to?

Although, by no means exhaustive, this list reveals things she’s promised in issue statements—plus some of her accomplishments so far—that affect largely women. Like many women, she's got a hefty TO DO list. Of course, she can't do it alone--but will need loads of Congressional cooperation.

Clinton herself has quoted suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt saying, "The vote is a power, a weapon of offense and defense, a prayer. Understand what it means and what it can do for your country." And some might add, for your gender…

CAREGIVING

Spell off Caregivers

80% of long term care for the chronically ill, or disabled is provided by families—with women making up 69-75% of those unpaid caregivers. At market rates that’s some $300 billion worth of care-giving. Hillary was the lead sponsor of the Lifespan Respite Caregiver Act to give temporary relief to what she calls an “invisible army” and promises to fund this when president to the tune of $300 million.

Give caregivers a financial break

Clinton proposes a new $3000 Caregiving Tax Credit to the estimated 50 million informal, un-paid caregivers who pay average out-of-pocket costs of $5,531 - more than double previous estimates according to the National Alliance of Caregiving which is more than 10 percent of a typical caregiver’s salary.

Paying relatives be guardians

Some states have subsidized guardianship. Likewise Clinton plans to use federal funds to subsidize family members who take care of kids who have been in foster care.

EDUCATION

Make it easier for working mothers to study
Clinton proposed a Non-Traditional Student Success Act that allows students attending college less than half-time to receive federal student aid. It lets them keep more income without losing student aid. It raises the Lifetime Learning Credit from 20 to 50%, and lets recipients have the money in advance to pay tuition.

Help teachers and others pay back loans

Clinton co-sponsored the Higher Education Reconciliation Act (not yet enacted), which allows loan forgiveness for people who work in public service jobs such as teaching--a profession that is 71-75% female--for ten years.

FAMILY DYNAMICS

Keep immigrant families together

Clinton put forward an amendment to make family reunification the guiding principle of the immigration system and to speed along visa backlogs, but it was defeated.

Make Dads pay their share

Clinton says she will work with states and counties on policies to make sure payments go DIRECTLY to children. She plans to spend money on Child Support Enforcement—reversing Bush cuts which she says could bring in $11 billion over the next 10 years.

FAMILY-WORK BALANCE

Clinton plans to make the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) apply to companies with 25 employees (down from 50), this will benefit 13 million additional people including many working women—who are more likely to work for small employers.

Give Federal Workers Parental Leave

Clinton proposes to make the government a model by providing paid parental leave—no mention of how long the stint would be.

Get more people paid leave

Clinton wants to spend $1 billion a year for a State Family Leave Innovation Fund to work with states to create family leave programs, possibly with Disability or Unemployment insurance.

Help parents stay home with their kids

Clinton proposes that low-income parents who want to stay at home with their kids rather than place them in childcare can receive subsidies through the Child Care Development Block Grant—essentially paying parents instead of daycare.

Improving Childcare

Clinton says she wants to improve licensing and safety standards, childcare worker training, and develop a rating system as well as increase the supply of childcare spaces.

FINANCIAL HEALTH

Keep More

Women are in the lowest earning ranks, and Clinton says she will wield the effective poverty-reducing tool:  the Earned Income Tax Credit.  She plans to triple the EITC for single earners (viz single mothers) to $750.  Also, she says she will create a third tier for families with more than three children so the EITC can be effective for them as well.  

Help women save for old age

Since they generally get paid less, sometimes work part-time and leave the work force during child rearing years, women often have little saved. Clinton has proposed American Retirement Accounts—which basically give a tax cut of to $500 and $1000 to help middle class and working families set aside some money and lack asset tests. 

HONOR THY FOREMOTHERS

Hillary Clinton worked on bills passed into law, to honor Shirley Chisholm for her service and to place a statue of Sojourner Truth in the U.S. Capitol.

VOTE FOR WIDOWS OF THE IRAQ WAR

So far 4000 service members have died in Iraq, leaving lots of widows and widowers. Clinton co-sponsored successful legislation to increase the military survivor benefit from $12,000 to $100,000.

Clinton also helped pass legislation allowing widowed spouses who remarry after 57 to continue receiving benefits given to military spouses.

KIDS ET AL

A good and early start

Putting money in kids’ way, Clinton earmarks $10 billion for pre-Kindergarten and $8billion for Head Start. She hopes to triple Early Head Start so that youngest children in poverty receive pre-literacy, health, nutrition and help with emotional and social development.

Healthier babies

Along with parent education programs, Hillary Clinton plans to expand nurse home visiting programs so that every new at-risk mother is offered access.

Feeding Children

Clinton says she wants to reform the food stamp program so many more are eligible and increase the payment per person which is at most $21 per week.  

To erase the poverty stigma that deters some, Hillary plans to make the School Breakfast Program available on a universal basis for children in low-income communities

Clinton wants to double funding for the summer feeding program that serves only 1.9 million kids—less than 10% of those in the school lunch program and do outreach.

Clinton will require schools that participate in breakfast or lunch programs to get rid of junk food—serving only what’s up to USDA standards.

Protect kids from dangerous toys

In the last year, 72 recalls involved 32 million toys. Clinton plans to increase the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s budget to $140 million and increase the staffing at the agency beyond the one responsible for testing, modernize the testing lab, increase the number of investigators and overhaul the recall system.

She also wants to hold toy producers liable for harmful products, pursue criminal prosecutions and impose stiffer penalties.

LESBIANS ARE WOMEN TOO

Liberty and benefits for all

Hillary supports civil unions and says she will work to ensure that all Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits and property rights.

Hillary cosponsored the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligation Act, which would grant the same benefits given to legal spouses--including health insurance-- to domestic partners of federal employees.

Hating Hate Crimes

Clinton intends to sign the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.

Don’t Don't Ask

There might be lots that aren’t telling: An Urban Institute study found that coupled lesbians age 18–27 were more than three times likely to serve than other women from 1990 to 2000.

This Clinton says the policy costs the military valuable personnel and vows to “address” this issue—without saying how.

OLD LADIES NEED HELP

Clinton proposes to double the tax deduction for the elderly, which will help millions of older women who outnumber older men—100 to 72.

Watch over Nursing Homes

Clinton envisages tripling the number of ombudsmen to help consumers of long term care of which 70% are women. She will no longer allow Medicare and Medicaid to withhold data on nursing homes from consumers.

Police the caregivers

In 2006, nearly one in five homes receiving federal funds was cited for serious deficiencies. Clinton says she will direct the Justice Department and FTC to go after abuses.She also wants a national system of background checks for long-term careworkers.

Help old ladies stay in their homes

Almost two-thirds of homecare recipients are women. Clinton wants to encourage states to provideMedicaid home and community care for seniors (and the disabled), whose income level now must be half as little as those receiving Medicaid for nursing homecare. The improving Long Term Care Choices act that she introduced allows home care to be included in Medicaid and intends to give it funding.

WOMEN’S HEALTH

Get family planning to more women

Clinton plans to expand access to the family planning Program or Title X-- often the only form of health care women receive--and increase funding to the program, which has 59% less spending power than 27 years ago. States that provide pregnancy care will also be made to provide family planning services.

Promote emergency contraception

Hillary, along with Senator Patty Murray, fought the FDA for three years until PLAN B was made available over the counter.
To make it available to women in the military around the world, Clinton introduced the Compassionate Care for Servicewomen Act.
Clinton intends to enact legislation to make EC available to victims of sexual assault in hospital ERs as it is in 14 states, or they’d risk losing federal funding.

Clinton co-sponsored the Prevention First Act to improve access to preventive health care services that help reduce unintended pregnancy, reduce abortions, and improve access to women's healthcare and require all insurancecompanies to cover contraception and fund sex education.

Restore discounts for birth control

Without previous discounts, hundreds of community centers and colleges now charge students and low income women 300-400% more for contraception; Clinton says she will make restoring discounted contraception will be a priority.

Fewer teen pregnancies

For the first time since 1991, the number of teen pregnancies has started to rise and Hillary’s goal is to reduce this number by one third.

Equal rights to the Pill

As president, Hillary says she will work to finally enact the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act, which requires insurance plans to cover contraception.

Access to abortion for military women and those around the world

Hillary Clinton will rescind the gag rule, which forbids NGOs around the world that receive US funding to discuss abortion. Also women in the US military are not permitted access to abortion on bases and Clinton says she will work toward restoring that right that women living stateside have.

Breast Cancer

Hillary Clinton co-sponsored the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act in the Senate, which will help develop research centers to examine potential environmental causes.

Clinton plans to spend $300 million a year in increased funding for breast cancer research.

She promises a Racial Disparities Research Project for black and Hispanic women and Young Woman’s Breast Cancer Research and Outreach Unit.

Democratize mammograms and mastectomies

Clinton will eliminate Medicare co-payments for mammograms.

She will guarantee breast and cervical cancer treatment to every low-income American. In 21 states, the current Medicaid program gives treatment only to women diagnosed at CDC-affiliated clinics not elsewhere. Clinton hopes to remove this barrier in her first year of office.

WORK

Promote union organization

Women made up 2/3 of new members last year; joining helps close the wage gap, as members receive about 33% more pay than non members. Clinton says she wants to pass the Employee Free Choice Act so that unions can more easily organize for fair wages and safe working conditions.

Make sure women get equal pay–even retroactively

Clinton sponsored the Fair Pay Restoration act, which aims to reverse a Supreme Court decision that did not allow recourse to a woman underpaid for 20 years. The act will help ensure people are protected by federal anti-discrimination laws.

Ensure that women are paid fairly

Because women make just 77 cents to a male dollar—or 72 cents for African-American women, Hillary Clinton sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act to strengthen the 45-year old Equal Pay Act. This will allow people to recover damages, to file class action suits, beef up penalties and toughen up that middle-aged legislation. Interestingly, the act includes a training program to help women learn how to negotiation for pay.

Let sick women stay in bed

Clinton supports the Healthy Families Act, which provides every full-time worker with seven days of sick leave—for themselves or to take care of their kids. This stands to benefit women more—as they are less likely to get sick days. More than 22 million have none—retail and food service industries that employ large percentage of women, nearly 60% and 80% respectively lack time off.

Flexwork muscles

Clinton proposes to promote telecommuting at federal agencies by setting goals for agencies and committing a manager to oversee the policies. She also plans to commit up to $50 million per year to support state and local initiatives, without spelling out exactly how that would help change the 9 to5.

She says she wants to encourage employees to request job-sharing, flex-time, part-time work without actuallylegislating the employers to grant such requests—and refers to a law in the UK has increased the numbers of flexible jobs.

Pay women bigger peanuts

Women are twice as likely to make minimum wage as white men, so the legions of hotel and foodservice workers (most likely to be poorly paid) will be happy to know Clinton says she intends to raise the Minimum Wage to $9.50 by 2011 and aggressively expand the EITC.

Break the Math Ceiling

Since only 23% of scientists and engineers are women, Clinton wants federal money to support programs for women and minorities in these fields and wants agencies to consider diversity when granting monies.

The Department of A-girl-culture

Clinton wants women (and minority) farmers to have access to money, do loan forgiveness for education in agriculture, start mentoring programs and make sure all farmers can make use of government commodity and conservation programs

Offer women another way to serve

West Point has only 15% women, the Army is less than 10% women. Hillary has proposed legislation to create The United States Public Service Academy, a “West Point of public service” to create leaders in education, government, public health, and conservation.