108th Congress

Number: 
108

On Earth Day, Rep. Maloney Urges Federal Policies that Improve Environment

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the 34th annual celebration of Earth Day, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) joined environmental organizations in recognizing the incredible progress made in environmental protection over the last thirty-five years in the United States, against strong opposition from those less committed to a clean environment. Maloney noted, however, the unfortunate change in environmental policy direction taken by the Bush administration.

OVERSEAS VOTERS GIVEN CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN EMERGENCY ELECTIONS UNDER SUCCESSFUL AMENDMENT

WASHINGTON, DC - Should a terrorist attacks kill more than 100 Members of the House of Representatives, overseas voters will have an opportunity to cast ballots in the special elections that follow, thanks to an amendment attached to the Continuity in Representation Act (HR 2844) today by House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Ike Skelton (MO-04) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14). (PDF of amendment) The amendment gives overseas voters – including men and women of the military – 45 days from the time ballots are mailed to them to return the completed ballots. The original version of the legislation did not address the issue of overseas voters. The Continuity Act passed the House 306-97.

A TALE OF TWO ECONOMIES: “MEN GET A BONUS JUST FOR BEING BORN MALE,” SAY REP. MALONEY, ADVOCATES AS THEY MARK EQUAL PAY DAY ON CAPITOL HILL

WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan & Queens) joined with leading advocates of pay equity to mark the observance of “Equal Pay Day” on Capitol Hill and to herald the release of a new report prepared by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) that shows that American women continue to earn 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts in the workforce. “I hope that within my lifetime, we can actually celebrate Equal Pay Day because women have achieved pay parity with their male counterparts. Instead we simply mark its observance as we release yet another comprehensive study documenting the wage gap between men and women,” said Congresswoman Maloney at today’s news conference, which she co-hosted. Equal Pay Day symbolically marks the amount of days in the calendar on which women would have to work additionally in order to earn equal pay to men.

REQUEST TO HOMELAND INSPECTOR GENERAL: WAS SENSITIVE INFORMATION RELEASED WITH THE APPROVAL OF DHS?

WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) has asked Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General Kent Clark Ervin to investigate whether adequate procedures are in place at DHS to prevent officials from approving the disclosure of sensitive or classified information to the press. These concerns most recently surfaced following a controversial airing of two segments on the Federal Air Marshal (FAM) Program on NBC Nightly News on February 5th and 6th, 2004, for which FAM officials knowingly disclosed the procedures for air marshals to board and secure commercial aircraft.

UNION REPRESENTING AIR MARSHALS SERVES OFFICIAL NOTICE TO CONGRESS OF “GROSS MISMANAGEMENT” IN AIR MARSHALS PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, DC - The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) today released a report on instances of what it calls “gross mismanagement” in the Federal Air Marshals (FAM) program - a report that FLEOA says serves as “official notice” to Congress. The report cites the release of classified information on FAM procedures for the purpose of national television stories, downgrading the classification of the FAM position, and FAM Director Thomas Quinn’s disparaging remarks about FAMs, among other issues of contention.

86 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO RUMSFELD: ANOTHER STUDY OF MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULTS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT ACTION

WASHINGTON, DC - To force action on the problem of rampant sexual assault in the military, 86 Members of Congress wrote Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today asking for a face-to-face meeting to determine the Department of Defense’s (DoD) plan (PDF of letter). To this point, DoD has announced a task force to study the problem, but the Members say that is not nearly enough - they point to 18 reports over the past 16 years that have yielded no substantive action.

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS PROPOSE COMPROMISE TO BUSH IN ORDER TO AID WOMEN WITH OBSTETRIC FISTULA

WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort break a deadlock with the Administration over international family planning funding and end the horrible problem of obstetric fistula, Rep. Maloney (NY-14), along with 10 Members of Congress, sent a letter today to President Bush urging him to fund United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) global campaign to end fistula and support HR 3810, Repairing Young Women’s Lives Around the World. (PDF of letter) The Members have struggled against the Administration over UNFPA since 2002, when the Bush Administration first withheld the United States’s contribution to the organization.

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