THE WOMEN'S NEWSLETTER

NUMBER: 4
THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE FOR WOMEN'S INITIATIVES AND OUTREACH
JANUARY 3, 1996

"At stake (in the budget debate) is far more than just numbers and abstract programs and proposals and far more than the normal political debates in Washington. This debate is about people, the lives they lead, the hopes they have, the desires they have for a better life." -- President Clinton, December 9, 1995, Radio Address

President Fights for a Budget Good for Women and Families
President Clinton continues to fight to balance the budget and to prevent wrongheaded cuts and misplaced priorities that will unfairly hurt women and families. The President's fight for Medicare and Medicaid is especially important to women:

• Of the 37 million Medicare recipients, over 20 million, or 57 percent are women.
• Nearly 5 million or 23 percent of women aged 65 or older depend solely on Medicare to help with their medical bills.
• Nearly 70 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries between ages of 18 and 64 are women and 60 percent of all Medicaid beneficiaries are women.

President Clinton will make the cuts we need to balance the budget, but he refuses to make cuts into our fundamental American values.

The President and Vice President Meet Women Leaders At the Table
President Clinton and Vice President Gore met with women leaders on Dec. 20 in the Cabinet Room to discuss the importance of putting a woman's face on the issues. The President asked them for their help in getting the specifics about the impact of Republican cuts in such areas as education and the environment out to women. The meeting was attended by: Pat Reuss, NOW Legal Defense Fund; Marcy Love, Personal PAC; Hedy Ratner, Women's Business Development Center; Marilyn Monahan, National Education Association; Audrey Tayse Haynes, Business and Professional Women/USA; Linda Chavez Thompson, AFL-CIO; Nancy Zirkin, American Association of University Women; Judy Lichtman, Women's Legal Defense Fund; Marcia Greenberger, National Women's Law Center; Geraldine Marullo, American Nurses Association; Deb Briceland Betts, Older Women's League; Judith Conover, League of Women Voters; Gloria Johnson, Coalition of Labor Union Women; Nancy Chupp, Church Women United; Elisa Sanchez, Mexican American National Women's Association.

Clinton Administration Giving Women a Voice At the Table
The White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach (The Women's Office) has launched its main outreach initiative called At the Table. Presidential appointees are holding roundtables with women across the nation to hear their concerns and ideas. Reports from these roundtables are coming back to The White House and a monthly report will be sent to the President to ensure that women have a voice at the policy table. (More than 100 roundtables have been held and more than 1,000 women across the U.S. have participated.) Some of the topics being discussed:

• The Budget: Women are concerned that their families and children will be the losers with budget cuts and block granting.
• Welfare Reform: Women believe that the Congressional welfare reform bill should be vetoed because it will have a strong adverse impact on women.
• Choice: Women want to prevent any legislative setbacks to a woman's right to choose.
• Crime/Domestic Violence: Women are proud that the President has taken a leadership role on domestic violence. Women are also very concerned about violence in schools.
• Health Care: Women are afraid of losing their health insurance. They have concerns also about the quality of health care available to them.
• Education: Women want stronger investment in early childhood education.
• Affirmative Action: Women express a strong desire to continue affirmative action.
• Childcare: Women express a need for greater access to affordable quality childcare for all families.

Vice President Stresses Administration's Pro-Family Budget
Vice President Gore addressed approximately 800 guests on Nov. 29 at the General Assembly of Women of Reform Judaism, the women's arm of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The Vice President stressed the Administration's pro-family stand in the budget debate by questioning the Republican budget on several points:

"...how can you say you're for working families if you try to cut the Earned Income Tax Credit and increase their taxes? How can you say you are for the middle class if you make it harder for middle class families to pay for college or afford health care for their parents? How can you say you're for welfare reform if you're willing to push a million children into poverty? And how can you say you're for the well-being of all Americans if you propose to virtually dismantle all of our public health and environmental protections?"

Dr. Laura Tyson Speaks to National Committee on Pay Equity
Dr. Tyson spoke to the National Committee on Pay Equity on Nov. 28. She spoke about the budget debate and the Administration's objective to restore fiscal responsibility in such a way that we also address our society's major difficulties. She listed some of the President's economic successes: -The deficit has come down 50 percent since fiscal year 1992. -The deficit is at a 17-year low compared to the size of the economy.

Secretary Shalala Unveils PSA's on AIDS Prevention
Secretary Shalala on Nov. 30 joined White House AIDS Policy Coordinator Patsy Fleming to unveil a new series of public service announcements about AIDS prevention. The series emphasizes the need for personal responsibility in preventing AIDS transmission.

Ellen Haas Speaks Out for School Lunches and Food Safety Net
Under Secretary for Food and Consumer Services Ellen Haas continues to stress that feeding the needy is a shared public-private partnership. At the Union Station Foundation emergency shelter in Pasadena Calif., Haas said recently: "...the federal government must take the primary responsibility for providing a national nutrition safety net. Congressional welfare reform efforts avoid taking this responsibility. The deep cuts in the Food Stamp and Child Nutrition Programs and the optional Food Stamp block grants in the budget reconciliation bill would place an enormous burden on the private sector that they could not possibly carry."

Women Who Are Making a Differencee for Other Women
With each newsletter, we will highlight some of the Presidential appointees who are inviting women to join them At the Table. In this issue, they are: Chantale Wong, senior advisor to the Director at OMB; Anne Elliott, Department of Energy; and Marie-Louise Caravatti, Department of Commerce. Chantale met with Asian Business women in San Francisco and discussed several topics including welfare reform, immigration, the budget and Medicaid cuts. Anne Elliott met with businesswomen and attorneys in Chicago -- with Russian women visitors looking on to learn the American policy process. Marie-Louise Caravatti met with the state's most influential women leaders from the private and public sectors in Wilmington, Delaware. "For this group, turning our problems over to the invisible hand of the private sector was not seen as a solution," Marie-Louise wrote in her report to The Women's Office.

Be Counted, Get Included in Women Presidential Directory
Currently, more than 42 percent of President Clinton's appointments are women. He has appointed more women to serve in his Administration than any President. We have six-Cabinet level appointees who are women and there are about 2,500 women appointees throughout the Administration. To help identify who is serving where, The Women's Office is working to publish a directory of women Presidential appointees to share with women groups and women appointees. To get included call your White House Liaison or call the Women's Office at 456-7300.

Briefing for Women Appointees
The White House press and communications teams briefed women appointees on Dec. 13 in the OEOB on the Administration's message and priorities and the importance of At the Table outreach. Those briefing the women included Evelyn Lieberman, Mike McCurry, Don Baer and Peggy Lewis. Also briefing the group was Tony Lake who discussed Bosnia. The Women's Office organizes a briefing each month as well as a social event. Gloria Steinem will speak at a briefing soon.

Call Us: The White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach: Betsy Myers, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director; Lisa Ross, Deputy Director. Staff: Peggy Lussier, Carrie Wofford, Judy Gold, Beth Newburger, Ashley Oliver, Mary Dixon.

Office of Women's Initiatives and Outreach. Phone: 202 456-7300; Fax: 202 456-7311

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