Happy Birthday 19^th Amendment!

Believe it or not, it’s only been 90 years since the 19^th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote in our democracy was made part of the Constitution. Since 1971, we’ve celebrated the anniversary of August 26, 1920, as Women’s Equality Day.

One great way to celebrate would be to make sure that every eligible woman is registered to vote. That includes women turning 18 and those who have recently become naturalized citizens. After all, as important as the right to vote is, it’s even more important to use the vote to help shape the direction of our nation. So make sure you’re registered and encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Women’s Equality Day is also the perfect time to consider what the United States can do to advance women’s rights as human rights.  Social workers concerned with social justice and equity have an opportunity on this day to promote women’s rights by supporting CEDAW – the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

CEDAW, also known as the Women’s Treaty, is a landmark international agreement that affirms principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world. CEDAW helps women and girls by offering a practical blueprint for ending discrimination, stopping violence against women and trafficking of women and girls, ensuring education and vocational opportunities, and increasing political participation including the right to vote and to hold political office.

The United States played an important role in drafting CEDAW, which the United Nations adopted in 1979. But the U.S. remains one of only seven countries, including Iran, Sudan, Somalia, and three small Pacific Island countries (Nauru, Palau and Tonga), that have not yet ratified CEDAW.

That could change this year. It takes the votes of 67 senators to ratify a treaty, and President Obama and over 100 national organizations have expressed their support for the treaty’s ratification.

Ratifying the CEDAW treaty would continue America’s proud bipartisan tradition of promoting and protecting human rights, and it would strengthen the United States as a global leader in standing up for women and girls in countries around the world.

The CEDAW website – www.cedaw2010.org – has more information about CEDAW along with practical suggestions on how you can help the treaty become ratified.  The NASW website also has more information about its work on women’s rights.

The fight for women’s suffrage took more than 70 years of persistent advocacy, organizing and education and was only secured when a 24-year-old member of the Tennessee legislature, acting on a note from his mother, changed his vote from “no” to “yes” so Tennessee became the final state needed to ratify the 19^th Amendment.

So let’s make history again – and help ratify CEDAW.  TAKE ACTION HERE

When NASW works on issues involving women and girls, you may be tempted to think of it in a domestic context; equal pay for equal work and reproductive choice are two common examples.  However, we must bear in mind the international aspects of our work in this area as well.

The White House recently rolled out their National Security Strategy, and it contains important priorities for the rights of women and girls.  On page 46, the Administration notes that “countries are more peaceful and prosperous when women are accorded full and equal rights and opportunity.”  Ironically, NASW has urged the United States to heed this advice and eliminate the pay gap between the genders (women make roughly 20% less than men in the U.S.).  In addition to this abstract language, the Administration also discusses specific issues such as human trafficking, education, employment, and micro-financing to aid women around the globe.

NASW’s advocacy in this area may start here at home, but the influence of our work extends abroad.  We continue to press the United States to show leadership in this realm not just domestically, but internationally as well.

To learn more about NASW’s work on international issues, visit http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/intl/default.asp   More information on U.S. foreign assistance can be found under the Issue Areas heading.

Political Climate

With the health care debate now behind us, Capitol Hill and the Obama Administration have moved on to other things.  Issues of great significance include a pending Supreme Court nomination, fluctuating news on employment, and several Congressional primary races that will give shape to the November general election.  At this point in the year, many Members of Congress are focused on both a wide range of policy issues as well as their reelection prospects.

While Democrats are expected to suffer losses this year, experts widely disagree on the number (House seat estimates have ranged from 25 all the way to 60).  That said, it’s important to remember one thing about any election in which the minority party is trying to overwhelm the majority party: only in the summer and fall are the challengers truly tested, in both fundraising and campaigning.  Those Republican candidates trying to defeat entrenched Democrats will have to maintain a significant fundraising pace and avoid gaffes on the campaign trail.  Any error in either category could cost the GOP potential seats.

These remarks are not meant to be partisan in nature because the Democrats were in a similar position in 2006 as well as 2008.  In each of those years some Democratic challengers were unable to defeat Republican incumbents due to either lackluster fundraising, a disappointing campaign, or both.  At the same time, the Democrats won a significant number of seats in the House and the Senate, eventually taking over the majority.  The GOP is likely to repeat that pattern this year, enjoying a sizeable number of wins, but not necessarily as many as their most optimistic supporters would like.

Remembering Dr. Dorothy I. Height

NASW and the social work community were devastated by the loss of Dr. Dorothy I. Height on April 20, 2010. One of the world’s most important social workers, Dr. Height was a civil rights legend who spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of women and people of color. Dr. Height worked on five continents for four major national organizations during her lifetime. Dr. Height was the only female team member in the United Civil Rights Leadership which included Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,  Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer, Roy Wilkins and John Lewis. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1997, the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004, and was inducted into the Democracy Hall of Fame International. NASW was honored to award Dr. Height with the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The most comprehensive piece of federal legislation ever introduced to address social work workforce challenges was named after Dr. Height and fellow social worker Whitney Young. NASW Executive Director Dr. Elizabeth Clark penned a tribute to Dr. Height and discussed her support of the legislation bearing her name. Honor the legacy of Dr. Height today by contacting your Representative and Senators in support of this critical legislation.

NASW Joins Young Invincibles In Support of Early Dependent Coverage

NASW joined 65 state and national groups on a letter asking insurance companies to start dependent coverage early.  The letter was generated by Young Invincibles, a national youth advocacy group focused on health reform.  (more…)

This week brings to mind two very important issues: Pay Equity and Title IX (which bars gender-based discrimination in high school and college activities, including athletics). Both issues have been widely mentioned this week, and many people have weighed in on the importance of both.

But the bottom line is not whether we achieve these goals, but how we achieve them. While we all laud the goals of Title IX, the unfortunate truth is that many colleges and universities simply eliminate men’s sports, rather than add women’s sports, in order to achieve compliance. It’s not difficult to envision a similar danger in pay equity; a 22% cut in men’s pay would close the gap between the genders.

NASW advocates for a society that is not just statistically fair, but one that is actually fair. This can only be accomplished through enhanced and expanded opportunities for women, not through reductions in men’s opportunities that only serve to harm both men and women.

NASW will remain dedicated to these issues until their twin goals are achieved the right way, through fairness without compromise.

March is Women’s History Month and NASW’S longstanding advocacy as well as success on women’s issues prompted an invitation from the Women in Politics Institute to attend a panel discussion and reception acknowledging the contributions of women in government, including those within the Obama Administration.  The event will occur on March 23, 2010 at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University located in Washington, D.C.  Invited guests include the following luminaries: The Honorable Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, Tina Tchen, Director, White House Office of Public Engagement and Anita McBride, Former Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush.

In October, Representative Barbara Lee (CA-9) introduced H.R. 3699, a bill to prohibit any funds being expended to increase the number of members of the United States armed forces serving in Afghanistan. The bill currently has 27 cosponsors and has been referred to the House Committee on Armed Forces. Rep. Lee, a social worker, was the only opponent to George W. Bush’s War Resolution in 2002 by introducing House Concurrent Resolution 473 into the 107th Congress, which urged the United States to re-engage the diplomatic process and stressed the government’s commitment to the United Nations’ inspections process. NASW applauds the efforts of Representative Lee to restore peace.

Becky Myers, LSW, ACSW
Director, External Relations
Dec 3, 2009

Today, staff and members of NASW attended the National Lobby Day and Rally against the Stupak Amendment. NASW was a sponsor and worked to plan and implement the event. The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to the health care reform legislation sponsored by Bart Stupak (MI-1) and Joe Pitts (PA-16). This “Stupak” amendment would restrict access to abortion procedures for consumers who receive subsidies to buy insurance in a reconfigured health care system. Pro-choice organizations are very concerned the new language threatens the availability of private insurance coverage for comprehensive reproductive health care services. Today these groups joined forces to lobby their members of Congress and rally against this amendment being included in the Senate healthcare reform package and conference legislation.

The rally was led by Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, and sponsored by a number of women’s, religious, professional, campus, and related groups in support of reproductive choice. The support from members of Congress was overwhelming with many in attendance including social worker Susan Davis, Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Patty Murray, Rep. Jerry Nadler, Rep. Nita Lowey, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Rep. Dianna DeGette, Rep. Lynn Woolsey, and Rep. Donna Edwards. Additional speakers included Ellie Smeal from the Feminist Majority, Willie Parker, the Medical Director with Planned Parenthood of Metro DC, and Rev. Carlton Veazey

The crowd was quite large and included all ages, races, and genders. People came from all over the United States and from 38 different college campuses. The overall message was that we are all in support of healthcare reform and universal access for everyone, but not on the backs of women. Everyone expressed that healthcare reform efforts should be targeted to increase access, not deny women the right to choose, and absolutely not to reverse current law.

Stand up for reproductive choice today by contacting your Representative and Senators today!

Because Congress will be in recess for the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no Health Care Roundup on Tuesday, December 1. The next publication will be on Tuesday, December 8.

Rally on Reproductive Choice in Health Care Reform

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to the health care reform legislation sponsored by Bart Stupak (MI-1) and Joe Pitts (PA-16). This amendment would restrict access to abortion procedures for consumers who receive subsidies to buy insurance in a reconfigured health care system. Pro-choice organizations are very concerned the new language threatens the availability of private insurance coverage for comprehensive reproductive health care services.

NASW is co-sponsoring a rally and lobby day on Wednesday, December 2. The day starts at 9am with a lobby training followed by a briefing from 9:30 – 10:30am. Lobby visits from 10:30-11:30.  There will be an event from 12:00-2:00 and more lobby visits from 2:00-4:30.  Events will take place in the Dirksen Auditorium G-50. A wrap up will take place at 4:30 in Rayburn Banquet Room B369. If you would like to participate in the lobby day, please contact Dina Kastner at advocacy@naswdc.org (the mailbox is now accepting messages) so she can set up appointments for you.

Senate Opens Floor Debate on Health Reform

On Saturday, November 21 the U.S. Senate agreed to hold debate on health reform legislation known as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” (H.R. 3590). The bill is expected to be on the floor for several weeks after Thanksgiving and will require significant changes to clear the filibuster hurdle of 60 votes to secure passage. NASW plans to strongly support passage, but will also support changes in the bill including those that improve coverage and protect against any weakening amendments of women’s rights to reproductive choices. NASW expects to be very actively involved in this debate; members wishing to keep up to date on our activities should visit our health reform webpage here.

Financial Impact of Health Reform

There is a great deal of analysis available on health reform legislation, but information from non-partisan congressional sources, such as the Congressional Budget Office, is frequently most pertinent to legislative decision making. Readers interested in learning more about the impact of health care reform legislation on federal spending may wish to view congressional analyses of the legislation.  These two inks summarize the budgetary impact of the House bill, HR. 3962: Health Care by the Numbers and Controlling Health Care Costs.

The Senate bill the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” (H.R. 3590) is still new so nonpartisan analyses of its budgetary impact are still becoming available. One summary is linked here and more information appears here. A brief comparison of the Senate and House versions of health reform legislation is available by this link to a Washington Post interactive site.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Monday announced the release of Health Insurance Reform: The Case for Change, a series of state-by-state reports highlighting the benefits of health insurance reform. The reports are available now here.

Medicare Fee Fix Passes House Floor Moves to Senate

The House passed legislation H.R. 3961 on November 19, which would prevent a scheduled 21 percent cut in Medicare doctors’ payment rates, although its fate remains uncertain. Without congressional action, payment rates for Medicare physician and clinical social worker services will drop by 21 percent on January 1, 2010. The prospect of steep payment cuts has raised fears that care to beneficiaries could be disrupted. The fate of corrective legislation that would permanently repeal the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula that determines future payment rates in Medicare and TRICARE remains uncertain. The SGR formula is frequently inappropriately described as the Medicare “physician fee” formula, but it actually sets the overall rate of increase or decrease for all Medicare Part B independent practitioners, including clinical social workers. NASW supports corrective legislation that would halt scheduled cuts in Medicare payments to clinical social workers and other health professionals and has urged Congress to adopt a plan to recalibrate how those payments are set each year. See NASW’s letter to Congress here.

Correcting the problem before the rate cuts go into effect on Jan. 1, will be politically extremely difficult. The Senate’s huge health care reform bill (H.R. 3590) includes short-term Medicare rate relief, but this provision is highly controversial and may change during floor consideration. Currently, the Senate plans to return to its physician payment bill once they finish work on health care reform, likely meaning it won’t be considered until sometime after the cuts go into effect on Jan. 1. Congress in the past has occasionally failed to enact the physician payment legislation in time, but has simply later passed retroactive legislation that restores the payment rates. Current law requires even further reductions in Medicare physician fees, a loss which will total to a 40 percent cut by 2016. If the Senate agrees to separate physician payment legislation, it may simply approve the House passed bill, but for now, a politically acceptable solution has not been identified.

Health Technology Loan Measure Passed by House

On November 18, the House passed, by voice vote, a bill (HR 3014) creating a new program to be administered by the Small Business Administration that would guarantee small business loans to health professionals such as clinical social workers and physicians to obtain health information technology for use in small or independent health practices. Eligible health information technology includes computer hardware, software, and related technology that supports the meaningful electronic health record use requirements of Medicare and purchased by an eligible professional to aid in the provision of health care, including electronic medical records. Information technology whose sole use is financial management, maintenance of inventory of basic supplies, or appointment scheduling would not qualify for the loan program. The legislation has been referred to the Senate where action is uncertain at this time.

GINA Employment Provisions Take Effect

On November 21, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) took effect for all employers with 15 or more employees and it took effect for individual health insurance plans last May.

GINA was passed by Congress last year and prohibits the use by employers of genetic or family medical history in making hiring, firing, promotion or job placement decisions.  Employers cannot require employees to undergo a genetic screening or ask employees for such medical information.

In related news, NASW joined various groups on a letter to the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service stating our opposition to any delay or weakening of the GINA regulations.  The letter states, “any delay in implementation would continue to allow employers to inquire about employees’ private genetic information or their families’ medical history, while penalizing employees who choose to keep that information private; any such exemption would create a loophole to significantly weaken the protections afforded to employees and the American people under GINA”.

Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH
Executive Director

NASW has been working in support of universal health care for all individuals for a very long time and most recently in support of health care reform legislation. We’ve advocated for a public option and recently supported H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act. However, we are opposed to the Stupak-Pitts Amendment which would restrict access to abortion procedures for consumers who receive subsidies to buy insurance in a reconfigured health care system. Pro-choice organizations are very concerned that the new language threatens the availability of private insurance coverage for comprehensive reproductive health care services. We joined many of these organizations on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to organize against this measure.

Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, organized and led the meeting along with groups including the Feminist Majority, National Organization for Women, Naral Pro Choice America, Catholics for Choice, and the Young Women’s Christian Association along with numerous state level organizations and offices. The group discussed what the amendment does and why it is a dangerous precedent to set for women’s health rights.

Ms. Richards introduced Senator Stabenow, who was the featured speaker and one of the social workers in Congress. She referred to a video for which Senator Stabenow has become infamous. In the video Senator Kyl from Arizona discourages healthcare coverage for maternity care saying, “I don’t need maternity care.” Upon which Senator Stabenow retorts, “I bet your mother did.” She has been an outspoken advocate for women’s rights for a long time and has fought in the Senate Finance Committee to ensure equality and justice for everyone under a health care reform proposal.

Senator Stabenow further discussed the magnitude of this amendment and stated that health care reform legislation should expand health care, not decrease what is already available. She said, “We aren’t going to roll back the clock to limit options and services. We want coverage we need when we need it.” This amendment is designed to stop health care reform from being signed into law. Additionally, women have more to gain from health care reform as they pay more for insurance and receive less coverage. Senator Stabenow ended by saying, “Hang in there with us. I don’t pretend that it will be easy. I want you to go get em!”

The overall message of the meeting was that we want health care reform but not on the backs of women across the country. NASW will be participating in a lobby day on December 2 to oppose the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH
Executive Director

NASW was a proud co-sponsor of the celebration of Women Appointees of the Obama Administration. Sponsored by the Coalition for Women’s Appointments (of which NASW is a member), the event, held on September 29, was appropriately held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC.

Irene Natividad, Chair of the Coalition for Women’s Appointments and President of the Global Summit of Women welcomed the large group and spoke of the importance of recognizing women’s talents in government. Over 335 appointees were present. Nancy Hogan, Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel remarked that we will need a bigger room next year as over a thousand women have been appointed so far with 143 being Senate approved. She also pointed out that although we’ve made great strides, women are still underrepresented. She further challenged us to find five qualified women to sign on to White House Presidential Appointments Application website.

Tina Tchen, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Executive Director of the Council for Women and Girls also spoke about the issues concerning women and girls and the responsibility of all of federal government to address these challenges. We have worked consistently with Ms. Tchen and she looks forward to continuing her work with the women’s groups.

The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offered remarks as well. The Coalition for Women’s Appointments identified Secy. Sebelius as their first choice for Secretary of HHS. She spoke of the importance of health care reform, noting that it is the number one issue for the Administration and likened it to the struggle of the suffragettes who worked for many years for passage of the 19th Amendment. She stated that, “reform will change the world for women.”

Secy. Sebelius also introduced social worker Carmen Nazario, who was recently appointed as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families. Until her recent nomination, Carmen Nazario was an Assistant Professor at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, where she taught social policy and coordinated the Social Work Practicum at the School of Social Work. Nazario has vast experience in public service with a focus on improving services to children and families within the United States and around the world, dating back to 1968.