There is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control. We cannot stop earthquakes, we cannot prevent droughts, and we cannot prevent all conflict, but when we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help.
Jan Schakowsky
Without health insurance, getting sick or injured could mean going bankrupt, going without needed care, or even dying needlessly.
Instituting equal pay is especially important because families in our country increasingly rely on women's wages to make ends meet. When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families - groceries, rent, child care, and doctors' visits.
In 1973, the Roe v. Wade decision concluded that women have a constitutionally protected right to safe and legal abortions. That landmark decision wasn't the beginning of women having abortions; it was the end of women dying from abortions.
Immigration reform is for those thousands of people in my district and the millions of people across the country who want nothing more than to work hard, provide for their families, and reach for the American Dream.
Making sure women get equal pay for equal work remains one of my top priorities.
I've seen the impact of deportation in my district. It is heartbreaking to see families torn apart for no good reason.
Our Committee should be focusing on real priorities - improving health care, combating climate change, creating jobs and making products safer - not attacking Planned Parenthood and undermining women's access to critical services.
A woman should not have to fear retribution from her employer, and the District of Columbia should be able to pass laws to protect against that retribution.
I've fought to close the gender and racial pay gap for a very long time. One piece of advice I like to give whenever I'm speaking on the subject: if you want equal pay, join a union! I've never seen a union contract that pays women 79 cents to a man's dollar.
Obamacare does much more than provide coverage to the previously uninsured - it improves the quality of coverage for all of us. Critical cancer and other health screenings are free. Women and people with disabilities or chronic conditions are no longer charged more - or priced out of the market altogether.
Your health benefits are not a gift - you work hard for them every day.
As a country, we can make the commitment to provide quality long-term services - so that getting care doesn't depend on whether you are fortunate enough to have a loved one willing and able to provide it.
Preventing gender-based violence is critical to establishing safe, productive, and healthy workplaces for all.
I will continue to do all that I can to ensure and enhance worker protections, including the right to bargain collectively.
The 'People's Budget' rewards hard work and invests in our country. It ensures that everyone has an opportunity to get a good education, find a good job, live in a safe and secure home, put food on the table, have affordable health care, save for retirement, and maybe have a little left over.
Every American must be guaranteed dignity and independence in their retirement.
Each and every day health centers provide high-quality primary and preventive care to our constituents.
All across this country, undocumented immigrants are living in fear of seeing their families torn apart because of our broken immigration system. Many of those immigrants are children who were brought here at a young age through no fault of their own.
Ivanka Trump's declared mission to 'empower women who work' is a welcome element in the Trump administration. As a woman with a desk in the White House and the founder of an international corporation, she is certainly in a position to improve the wages, safety, and quality of life of working women around the world.
There is greater income inequality in the United States than in any other industrialized country. Yes, the debt is a problem that must be dealt with. To me, however, the disappearing middle class is even worse - bad for our economy and really bad for our democracy.
As a first generation American myself, I know that comprehensive immigration reform is good for our country. I know it will reduce our deficit, grow our economy, reaffirm our values, advance our ideals, and honor our history as a nation of immigrants.
We should not wait any longer to ensure that women get the pay they deserve. I will keep fighting for this until we achieve equality. I am very thankful for all those who are already advocating for equal pay, and I hope others will join me in this fight.
When girls can get an education and women can work and run businesses or even serve as elected officials, the world benefits.
The truth matters, and despite my objection to the creation of the Select Panel, as its Ranking Member, I will do all I can to ensure that as long at it continues, it will be as fair, transparent and objective as possible.
Immigrants are integral to the strength of our nation. They deserve comprehensive reform that will provide a pathway to citizenship and ensure that families aren't torn apart.
I was born and raised in Rogers Park in Chicago. My father sold furniture, and my mother was a Chicago public school teacher and proud member of the Chicago Teachers Union for decades.
Community health centers do a great deal with limited resources. They provide critical medical care services to many who would otherwise have no other place to go or would end up in an emergency room.
I will continue to work to maintain Planned Parenthood's ability to provide excellent health care to millions of women.
We should put hardworking families first by voting on legislation to create jobs, raise wages, provide equal pay for women, invest in education, protect voting rights, and pass comprehensive immigration reform.
Through educational programming, Jewish American History Month will help raise the awareness of a people, their history and contributions. It will help combat anti-Semitism, a phenomenon that is on the rise and that unfortunately still exists in our Nation.
Americans firmly rejected Republican legislative efforts to repeal the ACA - only 17 percent supported it.
Few things give me more pride and hope for our future than when I see women, of all ages and backgrounds, in leadership roles. We need even more women in elected office, running businesses, and guiding organizations.
Ensuring that our children have more and better opportunities is the essence of the American dream.
The best way to earn a fortune in America is to already have one.
Before Obamacare, only 12% of individual insurance plans covered maternity plans. Even without that important benefit, women were charged up to 48% more than men for the same benefit package.
American workers deserve a raise. I fully support the push for $15 an hour and a union. We also must raise wages for low and middle income families.
The JCPOA is working - preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. It's time for the Republicans to start working, too.
Food service workers, home care workers, farm workers, and other low-wage workers log long hours. They come home tired after providing services and producing goods that make our country stronger. They deserve fair treatment from their employers, and they deserve a voice in collective bargaining.
Since the birth of our Nation, no other right has been more important than having the ability to vote. Unfortunately, as history has shown, the denial of this right to minorities is a scar on our system of democracy.
The effects of climate change are real and only getting worse. I would like to build on the promises of the Paris Climate Agreement and make our country a global leader on the fight against climate change.
I am a fierce advocate for the economic empowerment of all women. In the Congress, I am one of the leaders of an initiative called 'When Women Succeed, America Succeeds.' It is an economic agenda for women aimed at making sure women have equal pay for equal work, paid sick leave, and affordable child care.
We were far from rich, but I never remember my parents worrying about money.
At some point in our life, each of us is very likely to be a care getter or a care giver or both.
The Republican 'Work Harder for Less' budget leaves more Americans even worse off than they are today. The 'People's Budget' makes the critical investments needed to give the American people exactly what they deserve - economic security and peace of mind - and helps grow our economy from the middle out.
The United States and our allies across the world are working every day to fight terrorism. We must continue those efforts, and we must promote peace and freedom.
Rather than proposing a forward-looking energy initiative, House Republicans continue to push Big Oil's tired old ideas, ideas that will do absolutely nothing to lower gas prices for the American consumer.
Memorial Day is all about celebrating the lives of the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. The United States is made great because of their heroism. Their lives are remembered, honored, and celebrated by all of us, including the friends, family, and fellow service members who knew them best.
As a Jew, support for Israel is in my DNA.
More than 180 countries around the world have ratified CEDAW, some with reservations. While the United States signed the treaty in 1981, it is one of the few countries that have not yet ratified it. As a global leader for human rights and equality, I believe our country should adopt this resolution and ratify the CEDAW treaty.
