Listed below is federal legislation that may be of interest.

Aging

S 1617: Women's Pension Protection Act: To amend the employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide comprehensive pension protection for women.

Children

S 1704/HR 3243: Keeping Families Together Act: To establish a state family support grant program to end the practice of parents giving legal custody of their seriously emotionally disturbed children to state agencies for the purpose of obtaining mental health services for them.

S 2030: A bill to make the dependent care credit refundable.

HR 3595: At-Home Infant Care Act of 2004: Would authorize financial assistance to permit infants to be cared for at home by parents.

Civil Rights

H Res 21: Expressing the sense of the House that the Senate should ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

H. Con. Res. 130: Expressing the sense of Congress that neither the President, the Vice President, nor any Member of Congress, justice or judge of the United States, or political appointee in the executive branch of the government should belong to a club that discriminates on the basis of sex or race.

H. Con. Res. 68: Expressing the sense of Congress that Dorothy I. Height should be recognized for her achievements as a civil rights leader, dedicated activist working to fight racial and social prejudice, and for her lifetime commitment to improving the opportunities available to the most vulnerable in society.

H. Con. Res. 69: Expressing the sense of Congress that Althea Gibson should be recognized for her groundbreaking achievements in athletics and her commitment to ending racial discrimination and prejudice within the world of sports.

H.R. 80: Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2003: To enhance federal enforcement of hate crimes and for other purposes.

S 16: Equal Rights and Equal Dignity for Americans Act of 2003: To protect the civil rights of all Americans, and for other purposes.

HR 3636: To prohibit health discrimination against individuals and their family members on the basis of genetic information.

Criminal Justice System

HR 374: To amend the Hate Crime Statistics Act to require the Attorney General to acquire data about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on gender. House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

S 966: Local Law Enforcement Act: To provide federal assistance to states and local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes.

Economic Security and TANF

H.R. 624: Chance to Succeed Act of 2003: To include efforts to address barriers to employment as a work activity under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and for other purposes.

H.R. 625: Child Poverty Reduction Act: To expand the purposes of the program of block grants to states for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to include poverty reduction, and to make grants available under the program for that purpose.

H.R. 692: Racial Equity and Fair Treatment Act of 2003: To provide for racial equity and fair treatment under the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families program.

H.R. 1102: National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2003: To establish the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the Treasury of the United States to provide for the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of decent, safe, and affordable housing for low-income families.

HR 1430: Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act: To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to permit leave to care for a domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent for a serious health condition.

H.R. 1841/S. 947: Housing Assistance for Needy Families (HANF), relating to Section 8 Housing Vouchers. Advocates believe this would jeopardize the program and lead to cuts in assistance for low income families.

HR 3560: To amend the temporary assistance to needy families program to provide grants for transitional jobs programs, and for other purposes.

S 76/HR 1688: Paycheck Fairness Act: To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of wage discrimination on the basis of sex, and for other purposes.

S 224/HR 965: Would increase the federal minimum wage to $6.65 an hour.

S. 327: To allow up to 24 months of vocational education training to be counted as a work activity under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

S 557/HR 1155: Civil Rights Tax Relief Act: To exempt most civil rights damage awards and settlements from a person's taxable income and allow income averaging for backpay and frontpay awards based on civil rights claims.

S 574: To toll the 5-year limit for assistance under the temporary assistance to needy families program for recipients who live in a State that is experiencing significant increases in unemployment.

S. 603: Pathways to Self-Sufficiency Act of 2003: Gives states the option to create a program that allows individuals receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to obtain post-secondary or longer duration vocational education.

S. 770: Fair Treatment and Due Process Protection Act of 2003: Would ensure fair treatment and due process protections under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, to facilitate enhanced data collection and reporting requirements under that program, and for other purposes.

S 813: TANF Financial Education Promotion Act of 2003: A bill to require a state to promote financial education under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and to allow financial education to count as a work activity under that program. S 841 / HR 1695: Fair Pay Act: To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin.

S 1252/HR 2426: Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act: To provide benefits to same- and opposite-sex domestic partners of Federal employees.

S 1442: To preserve the political independence of the National Women's Business Council.

Education

H. Res. 137: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that changes to Title IX athletics policies contradict the spirit of athletic equality and gender parity and should not be implemented, and that Title IX should be kept intact.

H.R. 934: Teacher and Nurse Support Act of 2003: To expand the loan forgiveness and loan cancellation programs for teachers, to provide loan forgiveness and loan cancellation programs for nurses, and for other purposes.

S. 282: High School Sports Information Collection Act of 2003: To amend the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 to require the Statistics Commissioner to collect information from coeducational secondary schools on such schools' athletic programs. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Employment

S. 76: Paycheck Fairness Act: To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 304: Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act: A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to expand the scope of the act, and for other purposes. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 841: Prohibits discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Equal Rights Amendment

S J Res 11: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for women and men.

H.J. Res. 37: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women.

H. Res. 38: Requiring the House of Representatives to take any legislative action necessary to verify the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the Constitution when the legislatures of an additional three States ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

Family Support

H.R. 956: Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2003: Allow employees to take, as additional leave, parental invlovement leave to participate in or attend their children's and grandchildren's educational and extracurricular activities and to clarify that leave may be taken for routine medical needs and to assist elderly relatives, and for other purposes.

H.R. 1430: Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act: To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to permit leave to care for a domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent if the domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent has a serious health condition, and for other purposes.

H.R. 1655: Provides for Medicare coverage of marriage and family therapist services.

S. 18: Right Start Act of 2003: To improve early learning opportunities and promote preparedness by increasing the availability of Head Start programs, to increase the availability and affordability of quality child care, to reduce child hunger and encourage healthy eating habits, to facilitate parental involvement, and for other purposes.

S. 538: Provides assistance to family caregivers; provide relief for unpaid caregivers by having a paid care worker come in and help for a few hours or days. Authorizes lifespan respite grants for the development of lifespan respite care services and the evaluation of those services, respite care worker and volunteer training programs, or training programs for family caregivers to assist them in making informed decisions about respite care services; and $500,000 in each of FY2004 through FY2008 for the establishment of a National Lifespan Respite Resource Center. Passed Senate.

Health

HR 295: Would require group health plans to provide coverage for reconstructive surgery following mastectomy, consistent with the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998. House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Health.

HR 370: Women's Autoimmune Diseases Research and Prevention Act: To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for expanding, intensifying, and coordinating activities with respect to research on autoimmune diseases in women. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health.

HR 373: Robin Danielson Act: To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program of research regarding the risks posed by the presence of dioxin, synthetic fibers, and other additives in feminine hygiene products, and to establish a program for the collection and analysis of data on toxic shock syndrome. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health.

HR 953/S 486: Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003: To provide for equal coverage of mental health benefits with respect to health insurance coverage unless comparable limitations are imposed on medical and surgical benefits.

HR 1243: Better Screening Test for Women Act: Authorizes additional appropriations to the National Institutes of Health for research on the early detection of, and the reduction of, mortality rates attributed to breast cancer.

HR 1340/S. 646: To expand and improve coverage of mental health services under the Medicare Program.

HR 1448: Women's Cancer Recovery Act of 2003: A bill to require that health plans provide coverage for a minimum hospital stay for mastectomies and lymph node dissection for the treatment of breast cancer and coverage for secondary consultations.

HR 1469: Women's Obstetrician and Gynecologist Access Now: Requires that group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans permit enrollees direct access to services of obstetrical and gynecological physician services directly and without a referral.

HR 1499: Requires health insurance coverage for certain reconstructive surgery.

HR 1657: Provide funding for programs at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences regarding breast cancer in younger women, and for other purposes. Energy and Commerce

HR 1910: To prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance.

HR 3238/S. 1686: National Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act: Mandatory overtime would be prohibited for nurses in hospitals and health care facilities that receive Medicare, except when an official state of emergency has been declared or the provider's reasonable efforts to fill immediate staffing needs through other means fail.

HR 3459: Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act: To improve the health care of racial and ethnic minorities and to reduce and eliminate disparities in health care and health outcomes.

S 1396/HR 2727: Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act: To require equitable coverage of prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, and other contraceptive services under health plans.

S 1734/HR 3293: A bill to provide states with the option to expand or add coverage for pregnant women under Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

S 1988/HR 3355: To establish minimum requirements for nurse staffing in nursing facilities receiving payments under Medicare or Medicaid.

HR 953/S 486: Sen. Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act: To provide for equal coverage of mental health benefits with respect to health insurance coverage.

History

H Con Res 601: To direct the Architect of the Capitol to enter into a contract to revise the statue commemorating women's suffrage located in the rotunda of the United States Capitol to include a likeness of Sojourner Truth.

HR 1524: Votes for Women History Trail Act of 2003: A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish a commemorative trail in connection with the Women's Rights National Historical Park to link properties that are historically and thematically associated with the struggle for women's suffrage, and for other purposes.

S. 749: Votes for Women History Trail Act of 2003: Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Votes for Women History Trail in the State of New York.

S 1741: Provides a site for the National Women’s History Museum in downtown Washington DC.

S 1808: Provides for the preservation and restoration of historic buildings at historically women's public colleges or universities.

H. Con. Res. 66: Expressing the sense of Congress that Shirley Chisholm should be recognized for her activism and groundbreaking achievements in politics during the civil rights era, and for her efforts to reform the nation's political system and legislatures so that they better represent the needs of a greater number of Americans.

H. Con. Res. 7: Expressing the sense of Congress that Harriet Tubman should have been paid a pension for her service as a nurse and scout in the United States Army during the Civil War.

LGBT Rights

SJ Res 26/H.J. Res. 56: Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.

S 1705/ H.R. 3285: Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2003: A bill to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

HR 214: Civil Rights Amendments Act of 2003: To prohibit discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation, and for other purposes.

HR 832: Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2003: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide a mechanism for United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their permanent partners for residence in the United States, and for other purposes. Would add the term "permanent partner" to the federal law's list of definitions of family, and cover same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.

HR 1430: Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act: To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to permit leave to care for a domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent if the domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent has a serious health condition, and for other purposes.

HR 2676: Anti-Hypocrisy Act: Consensual sexual activity between adults shall not be a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Media

S. 1046: would reverse back a recent Federal Communications Commission decision allowing media companies to own more television stations. HR 2052 is a similar House bill.

Reproductive Rights

H.J. Res. 9: A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right to life. House Subcommittee on the Constitution.

H.J. Res. 31: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to equality of rights and reproductive rights. Reproductive rights for women under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State.

HR 486: To require the Food and Drug Administration to establish restrictions regarding the qualifications of physicians to prescribe mifepristone (RU-486). House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health.

HR 579: Right to Life Act of 2003: To implement equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of each born and preborn human person from the moment of fertilization. House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution.

HR 760: So called "Partial Birth" Abortion Bans. Partial birth is not a medical term and does not describe a commonly recognized abortion procedure. Reproductive rights advocates say that these bills criminalizes the safest and most common abortion methods starting early in the second trimester. Has been signed into law, and is being challenged in court.

HR 926:Schoolchildren's Health Protection Act would deny Federal education funding for schools that provide access to emergency contraception.

HR 1489: Parental Notification and Intervention Act of 2003: Provides for parental notification and intervention in the case of a minor seeking an abortion.

HR 1548: A bill to prohibit any federal official from expending any federal funds for any population control or population planning program or any family planning activity.

HR 1755/S. 851: Child Custody Protection Act: Would make it a federal crime for any person, other than a parent, to knowingly transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of obtaining an abortion, if she has not first complied with the forced parental involvement law of her state of residence.

HR 1812/S 896: Emergency Contraception Education Act: Establish a public education and awareness program relating to emergency contraception.

HR 1997/S. 1019: Unborn Victims of Violence Act: Would amend the federal criminal code and the Uniform Code of Military Justice to create a new, separate offense if an individual kills or injures a "child in utero."

HR 3069: Right to Life Act: To implement equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.

HR 3453/S 1930: A bill to suspend the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of RU-486 and provide for a Comptroller General review of the process by which the FDA approved the drug.

HR 3719/S 2020: Freedom of Choice Act: To prohibit, consistent with Roe v. Wade, interference by the government with a woman's right to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy.

HR 3805: Schoolchildren's Health Protection Act: Would eliminate all federal funding to any school district which has a school based clinic and provides emergency contraception.

HR 3887/S. 1990: The Emergency Contraception Education Act: Authorizes appropriations for $10 million annually for five years to develop and disseminate information to the public and educate health care providers on EC.

Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act which would prohibit health insurance companies which cover prescriptions from excluding contraceptive coverage.

RU-486 Patient Health and Safety Protection Act: Would restrict the prescribing of the drug mifepristone to physicians who meet specific requirements.

Violence

HR 1267: Domestic Violence Screening, Treatment, and Prevention Act of 2003: Provides research on the health impact and prevention of family violence; to provide training for health care professionals, behavioral and public health staff, and community health centers regarding identification and treatment for families experiencing family violence; and to provide coverage for domestic violence identification and treatment under the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the Community Health Centers Program.

HR 1429: To protect tenants in public housing and housing assisted under the rental assistance program under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 who are victims from eviction by reason of criminal activity.

HR 2527: Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act: Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving Federal funds, to provide emergency contraception to a woman who is a victim of sexual assault

HR 2620/S 1830: To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2004 and 2005 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

HR 3214/S 1700: Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003: To eliminate the backlog of DNA samples collected from crime scenes and convicted offenders, to improve and expand the DNA testing capacity of crime laboratories, to increase research and development of new DNA testing technologies, to develop new training programs regarding the collection and use of DNA evidence, to provide post-conviction testing of DNA evidence to exonerate the innocent.

HR 3420/S 1801: SAFE Act: To promote the economic security and safety of victims of domestic and sexual violence.

HR 3424: To authorize the establishment of domestic violence court systems from amounts available for grants to combat violence against women.

HR 4113: The Compassionate Care for Female Sexual Assault Survivors Act: Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving Federal funds, to provide emergency contraception to a woman who is a victim of sexual assault.

S. 152: DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2003: To assess the extent of the backlog in DNA analysis of rape kit samples, and to improve investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases with DNA evidence.

S. 826: To amend the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to provide for transitional housing assistance grants for child victims of domestic violence.

S 1809: To provide grants for mental health and substance abuse services for women and children who have been victims of domestic or sexual violence.

S 1954: To amend the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 by expanding the legal assistance for victims of violence grant program to include legal assistance for victims of dating violence.