Straight Talk With Sam - House Helps Women

Volume 4, Issue 30, July 26, 2004

STRAIGHT TALK WITH SAM

House Helps Women

Author Virginia Woolf once remarked that, "For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." Some were in the forefront of history like Madam Curie, but many more have received no credit other than their own satisfaction. The 108th Congress has worked hard to make sure that we have not left woman out this session.

In 2004, 81 million women will save, on average, $1,878 as a result of tax relief packages that we have passed. This is money that helps meet families' needs, whether it is clothes for the upcoming school year or needed repairs to a household appliance. A single mother of two earning $20,000 will have a tax bill of zero.

We have also acted to ease the burden on senior citizens. Senior women pay 18 percent more than men on out-of pocket costs for health care and are exposed to more chronic illnesses than men. We have provided a voluntary prescription drug benefit to help control the rising costs of prescription drugs. That bill also included Health Savings Accounts, which allows families to accumulate tax-free savings to pay for medical expenses.

We passed the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act to increase the amount of federal loan forgiveness available to highly qualified teachers who teach math, science or special education. We have acted to make sure that our teachers have access to reliable information on teacher training programs and have boosted teacher recruitment efforts.

The House has made sure that women's voices have been heard on legislation. History will record them, not as anonymous, but as equal partners in improving our country.