TAKE ACTION: Support the Presidential Commission on Women

If you haven't been keeping up with the latest news on the Presidential Commission on Women, now is a great time to do so. Although President Obama fielded the initiative early in his administration, the goals and objectives will need to be designed and voted on in Congress. Leading the effort to ensure the successful movement of the Presidential Commission on Women through the House of Representatives is Rep. Jackie Speier [CA-12], who is currently joined by 26 other congresswoman Co-Sponsors (Rep. Speier's Communications Director informs me that many congressmen are supportive of the bill, and will be invited to sign on to the bill following the April recess).

The following are cosponsors of H.R. 1887 to create a presidential commission for women.

Rep Speier, Jackie [CA-12] (introduced 4/2/2009)
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23] - 4/2/2009
Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [NY-11] - 4/2/2009
Rep Dahlkemper, Kathleen A. [PA-3] - 4/2/2009
Rep DeGette, Diana [CO-1] - 4/2/2009
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] - 4/2/2009
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14] - 4/2/2009
Rep Halvorson, Deborah L. [IL-11] - 4/2/2009
Rep Kaptur, Marcy [OH-9] - 4/2/2009
Rep Kilroy, Mary Jo [OH-15] - 4/2/2009
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 4/2/2009
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] - 4/2/2009
Rep Lowey, Nita M. [NY-18] - 4/2/2009
Rep Markey, Betsy [CO-4] - 4/2/2009
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] - 4/2/2009
Rep Pingree, Chellie [ME-1] - 4/2/2009
Rep Richardson, Laura [CA-37] - 4/2/2009
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - 4/2/2009
Rep Sanchez, Loretta [CA-47] - 4/2/2009
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. [PA-13] - 4/2/2009
Rep Shea-Porter, Carol [NH-1] - 4/2/2009
Rep Titus, Dina [NV-3] - 4/2/2009
Rep Tsongas, Niki [MA-5] - 4/2/2009
Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. [NY-12] - 4/2/2009
Rep Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [FL-20] - 4/2/2009
Rep Waters, Maxine [CA-35] - 4/2/2009
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 4/2/2009

Check out the update that I received from the WomenCount Campaign this morning (http://www.womencount.org/). Share your vision for the commission, Twitter, sign the petition on the WomenCount web page, or take action to inform your friends and legislators about the Presidential Commission on Women as you are able to.

______________________

Dear Friend,

You did it! Legislation to establish a Presidential Commission on Women is officially pending in Congress. We’re excited about this accomplishment, but we also know that now the real work begins – passing the bill.

WomenCount will continue to provide the grassroots support to persuade Congress to act. To make that happen, we need to hear from you.

Using our blog, tell Congress what you want a Presidential Commission on Women to do. Earlier this week, we facilitated a Twittercast asking people to share their ideas about how the Commission should be shaped and what , issues it should tackle. The Twittercast was so successful, we decided to continue the discussion on our blog and to ask our members and others to participate.

We’ll compile your input and deliver it to Congress and Rep. Jackie Speier, sponsor of the bill. And as a thank you, we will be sending our very hip WomenCount market bags to five randomly selected contributors to the blog! So post your comments now.

Meanwhile, some quick updates and links:

• The bill, H.R. 1887, was introduced with 26 original co-sponsors.
• The full text of the legislation is now available. Click here to read the bill.
• The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The next step will be for the Committee to conduct hearings. We will monitor progress on that front and make sure that you have a voice in those hearings.

And here’s what’s ahead:

• The petition campaign is still going full-steam. The more signatures we can get, the more it will help when the bill hits the floor. Forward our petition with a brief note to everyone you know. We have over 25,000 signatures, but we can and must do better than that!
• We are working now to schedule an event with Rep. Speier that will allow all of you to participate – either online or by phone. Stay tuned for details.
• We are continuing to build organizational support with over 70 partner groups now on board. Click here to see the list of supporting organizations or to sign up your group online.

Our movement started less than one year ago, and already we have accomplished so much together. We hope you feel proud. Now, onward!

Sincerely,

Stacy, Dale, Sarah, Jen and the WomenCount Team