On Tuesday, March 13th, the Healthy Families Act was re-introduced in Congress by sponsors Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). This was one of the three bills lobbied during the 2007 Policy and Action Conference last month. The bill would provide full-time employees with seven paid sick days a year to be used for their own medical needs or to tend to the medical needs of a child, spouse, or parent. Part-time employees receive a pro-rata share of paid sick days. Following an outside rally on Capitol Hill for the re-introduction, BPW/USA lobbied Members of Congress on behalf of the bill.

WiLL is a powerful voice with members in all 50 states, who represent millions of constituents. WiLL seeks to:

· Persuade Congress to redirect excessive military spending toward unmet human and environmental needs;

· Address women’s health issues;

· Eliminate violence against women;

· Curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons; and

· Support women running for elected office, particularly for Congress

WiLL welcomes the opportunity to link our members in state legislatures with BPW members. BPW/USA encourages its members to contact a WiLL State Director in order to invite a WiLL member to one of your State Federation or Local Organization meetings. In addition, because WiLL focuses on electing women to state office, BPW/USA encourages you to dedicate one of your Local Organization meetings to electing women to office and invite a WiLL representative to speak. Many BPW members already hold local and state political office, and it is important we continue to encourage women to run for office so that they are in the pipeline for federal office and the presidency. For a listing of WiLL State Directors, contact the WiLL Washington, DC office at 202-544-5055 x192.

New legislation, the International Violence Against Women Act, will soon be introduced in the Senate and House to address these frightening abuses. Working through the international assistance that the U.S. already provides to countries around the world, it will offer resources to support best practices against violence. The inspiring thing about this legislation is that it incorporates training, protection, and services for women across a range of situations, from the fight against HIV-AIDS, to school and health clinics, to court systems, to workplaces, to refugee camps. Stay tuned for more information about this legislation. BPW/USA is pleased to announce our continued work with the American Heart Association and its Go Red For Women initiative. Together, and with your help, we are capturing the energy, passion and intelligence of women to work collectively to wipe out heart disease – the No. 1 killer of women. Take the Go Red Heart CheckUp and see your doctor to learn your personal health. To get started right now click here and encourage others to do the same!

BPW/USA’s Legislative Hotline is a service for BPW members and is updated each week.

If you have any questions or would like additional information about BPW/USA’s policy initiatives please call BPW/USA’s Director of Public Policy,

Elisabeth Gehl, at 202-777-8962