For Immediate Release: February 13, 2009
Contact: Ranit Schmelzer or Mary Robbins, 202-588-5180
Final Economic Recovery Package Substantially Helps Women and Families
(Washington, DC) The final American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to be voted on by Congress will provide substantial economic help to women and families, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) said today.
“This bill is not just shovel ready – it’s family ready,” said Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President of NWLC.
“With 20,000 jobs being lost each day, double-digit unemployment among women who head families, and state and local governments cutting health care, education, assistance for the elderly, and other vital services, the bill is compassionate – and it’s what we need to get money into the economy quickly and create jobs,” Campbell stated.
“In addition to investing in physical infrastructure, the bill invests in education, health care, child care and Head Start – building human capital and creating jobs for teachers, health care workers, and early childhood educators, many of whom are women. It provides funding to enforce important worker protections for women and others, including civil rights laws. It helps eliminate barriers that disqualify many women from claiming unemployment benefits, in addition to extending and expanding unemployment compensation benefits. It strengthens the safety net for women and their families and others most in need.”
Below is a summary of how the Conference Report will help women and families. NWLC’s more detailed analysis is available at http://action.nwlc.org/ConferenceAgreement.
- Child Care and Early Education. The Act will help low-income parents obtain the child care they need to get and keep jobs and help children get the early learning they need to succeed, including $2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and $2.1 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start.
- Unemployment Insurance. With women’s unemployment rate rising quickly, the Act will expand unemployment insurance coverage for jobless workers, especially women, as well as extend and increase benefits.
- Child Support. The Act will help protect child support enforcement services for over 17 million children and their single parents, mostly mothers, by restoring federal funds cut from the child support enforcement program by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
- Health. The Act will help preserve access to vital health care services by preventing cuts in Medicaid, a program which serves more than 20 million adult women. It provides $87 billion over two years in increased federal support for Medicaid, which will protect access to health care at a time when states are seeing increased demand for services at the same time they face declining revenues, and other funding to promote access to health care.
- Direct Assistance for Low-Income Households. The Act increases direct assistance for low-income individuals, the majority of whom are women and children, including nutrition assistance and income supports. Helping those who are struggling to meet immediate needs not only alleviates hardship, it’s one of the most effective ways to boost the economy. Low-income people are more likely to quickly use additional income to purchase goods and services in their communities.
- Education and Job Training. During this time of high unemployment, the Act makes it easier to obtain education and job training. It provides funding for early childhood and K-12 education programs, and other public services.
- Tax Benefits for Individuals and Families. In addition to direct spending for the programs described above and other investments, the Act provides billions of dollars in tax benefits for low- and moderate-income families. The expansion of the refundable Child Tax Credit alone will help 13 million children in low-income families.
“We commend President Obama and Congressional leaders for moving quickly on the economic recovery bill,” Campbell said. “We regret that some important Medicaid, family planning, and education provisions are not in the final bill, but we look forward to working with the Obama Administration and Congress on these and other important issues in the weeks and months ahead.”
To speak with Nancy Duff Campbell, contact Ranit Schmelzer or Mary Robbins at 202-588-5180.
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