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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Roberts, John G.: Files
Folder Title: JGR/Women's Issues
(3 of 5)
Box: 58
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing
National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/
H.P. Goldfield
112 OEOB
THE WHITE HOUSE
file - women's
WASHINGTON
ismes
Updated version of "Legal and Economic Equity for Women. "
Please discard earlier copy.
THE OF OF STATES THE UNITED
White House Office of Policy Information
ISSUE UPDATE
Washington, D.C.
Number 15
September 19, 1983
LEGAL AND ECONOMIC EQUITY FOR WOMEN
Executive Summary
President Reagan is working actively to ensure legal
and economic equity for women. His Administration is
vigorously enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and has
submitted legislation to eliminate almost all remaining
gender distinctions from federal statutes. In addition, the
President's policies have helped produce an economic
recovery that is creating new economic opportunities for
women who choose to work outside the home. These legal and
economic opportunities have been supplemented by tax reform
that has significantly reduced the tax burden on all
Americans. For those women who want to work outside the home
but lack the experience to secure a job, the Administration
has developed effective job training programs. Further, the
Administration is working to strengthen child support laws
to improve enforcement efforts against delinquent fathers.
The President's commitment to women's rights is also
illustrated by his excellent record of appointments of women
to important federal posts.
Introduction
Women have always played major roles in American
society. Now, because of recent social, economic, and legal
changes, women are assuming increasingly diverse
responsibilities. Greater numbers are undertaking careers.
Many are focusing on the family and the home. Others are
seeking political office. And some doing all of these
things.
With their varied interests and concerns, women
therefore do not form a large, monolithic special interest
group: a female entrepreneur has different concerns than a
divorced mother trying to support a family; a young single,
female professional does not have the same needs as a
newly-widowed senior citizen.
-2-
Despite different goals and concerns, however, all
women share at least one objective: the opportunity to
choose their own destinies and attain individual
self-fulfillment as fully participating citizens. President
Reagan is committed to providing that freedom. For women
working outside the home, he has supported equal pay,
adequate day care, effective job training programs, and a
strong economy that creates more jobs. For homemakers, he
has increased the ability to participate in Individual
Retirement Accounts, reduced the estate tax, strengthened
enforcement of child support obligations of absent fathers,
and provided pension protection for military wives.
Moreover, President Reagan has worked to continue
ferreting out all vestiges of discrimination. As he said on
June 3, 1983:
We must work together to ensure women can
participate [in our national life] in the
manner they choose and that they are treated
equally. We, in this Administration, are
committed to eliminating, once and for all,
all traces of unjust discrimination against
women.
Legal Equity for Women
President Reagan is fully committed to equal
opportunity for women in all areas. On August 26, 1983, he
emphasized that it is "time to cut through the fog of
demagoguery that surrounds this whole issue. All of us are
interested in one goal: ensuring legal equity for women."
To this end, President Reagan has called for and
produced stronger enforcement of protections already written
into the statutes. These laws are extremely powerful weapons
against discrimination. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, for
example, requires equal pay for equal work, regardless of
sex. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended
by the Equal Employment Act of 1972) prohibits sex
discrimination with regard to hiring, job classification,
promotion, compensation, fringe benefits, and termination.
The Small Business Act of 1973 prohibits the SBA from
practicing sex discrimination against any person or small
business concern. And the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of
1974 requires financial institutions to make credit
available without discrimination based on sex or marital
status.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Fifth
-3--
and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit state and federal actions
that discriminate against women. Distinctions based on sex,
the Court said, are permitted only when they are reasonable,
narrowly drawn and "substantially related to an important
governmental objective," such as not compelling women to
register for a military draft.
The President is determined that these laws be obeyed.
At his direction, the Justice Department is vigorously
enforcing legal protections against discrimination based on
sex, race, or national origin. To cite only one example, the
Administration won a court order instructing Fairfax County,
Virginia, to make backpay awards to 685 victims of sex and
race discrimination totaling $2.75 million -- the largest
recovery ever in an anti-discrimination case involving a
public employer.
The Administration has also supported women's rights in
numerous federal court cases. For example, the Justice
Department filed a "friend of the court" brief in the
Supreme Court arguing against the practice of paying women
lower monthly pension benefits than men, a position
vidicated by the Court in a subsequent case. The
Administration also filed a "friend of the court" brief on
behalf of a female lawyer denied partnership in a law firm
because of her sex. In a lower court, the Justice Department
argued that the physical agility tests in the City of
Buffalo Fire Department were not job-related and had
unfairly prevented the city from hiring female
firefighters. The Administration also filed suit against the
Buffalo Board of Education charging sex discrimination under
the Pregnancy Disability Act.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has
also vigorously enforced equal employment laws. In FY 1982,
the EEOC recovered $100 million in back pay for victims of
sex and race discrimination -- 73% more than the EEOC
recovered in FY 1980.
President Reagan has also launched two major
initiatives to promote equal rights within the federal and
state governments. First, on December 21, 1981, the
President created the Task Force on Legal Equity for Women
to identify federal laws and regulations that discriminate
against women. The First Quarterly Report resulted in the
introduction by Senator Robert Dole of legislation (S. 501)
to correct 51 gender distinctions in federal law. The
President endorsed this bill in September 1982.
When the Task Force's Third Quarterly Report was
presented in July 1983, the White House scheduled a meeting
of the Cabinet Council on Legal Policy for its earliest
possible consideration. At a meeting on September 8, 1983,
the President endorsed 122 of 140 possible changes. He
-4-
deferred action on 11 provisions that would enhance women's
opportunities, such as affirmative action in U.S. foreign
aid programs. And he decided to oppose 7 changes that would
hurt women, including the elimination of laws that prevent
women from serving in combat.
The most important result of the President's actions in
this regard is that all the remaining sex discriminations in
the federal code have been identified and, once Congress
acts, will be eliminated.
The President's second major intitiative is the 50
States Project, an ongoing effort through which the
President works directly with the governors and legislators
of the 50 states to assist them in identifying and
correcting discriminatory state laws and regulations. All
the governors have appointed representatives to start the
process in their states. Many of these discriminatory laws
have already been changed at the state level. The
Administration will continue to work closely with the states
to help them develop strategies to end discrimination in
their state codes.
The President is confident that eliminating
discriminatory laws on a statute by statute basis will work
because, when he was Governor of California, he followed
that same approach and managed to enact some of the
strongest equal rights laws in the nation. Just a few of the
laws enacted by then-Governor Reagan included a prohibition
against discrimination on account of sex in employment, real
property transfers, and the writing of insurance policies;
protections allowing a married woman to establish credit in
her own name; revisions in the community property law to
give married women equal rights with regard to the
management and control of community property; and changes in
the probate law that equalized married women's rights with
regard to the administration of the estate of a deceased
spouse.
The President believes that women should be protected
against discrimination in all forms, but that these
protections should take the form of specific laws. He
opposes the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) because
its vague wording could result in the federal courts --
instead of the people's representatives in the state
legislatures and Congress -- arbitrarily deciding important
gender-related social policy. Even the amendment's sponsors
admit that they cannot predict how the Supreme Court would
rule on specific issues, so no one knows what effect the ERA
would have on a wide array of policy questions. In fact,
rather than correcting discrimination, the ERA might force
drastic and unanticipated social change. For example, the
chief Senate sponsor of the ERA has testified that he does
not know if the ERA would result in the removal of tax
-5-
exempt status from churches that do not ordain women as
priests -- such as the Catholic Church -- or from colleges
and universities that admit only a single sex.
The President strongly believes that legal equity
should be guaranteed, but that in so doing, the people and
their elected representatives should retain their power to
make the laws that establish national policy. This power
would be seriously undermined by the open-ended wording of
the ERA.
Economic Recovery
Nothing over the past decade has caused more pain and
put a heavier burden on women -- homemakers, workers
employed outside the home, and the elderly -- than soaring
inflation and economic stagnation. Although inflation has
hurt all women trying to stretch their family budgets,
rising prices were especially hard on retired women with
fixed incomes and single mothers trying to get by on one
paycheck. In 1979 and 1980, as inflation hit double digits
for two consecutive years, many women were just barely able
to pay for such basics as food, fuel, and medicine.
Rising unemployment and economic slowdowns accompanied
the inflation of the 1970s. More women joined the workforce
-- many because they wanted careers of their own and some
because their families needed the extra income -- but the
stalled economy prevented most from making real progress.
Often as the "last hired," they were the "first fired" when
a company had to lay off workers. This meant tragedy for
many single-parent families headed by women; joblessness
often forced them into poverty and welfare dependency. Only
a dynamic, expanding economy could have created the number
of jobs necessary to allow women to move more speedily into
better, higher-paying jobs, and that economy did not exist
in the 1970s.
The President's most important solution to this problem
is his four-part Economic Recovery Program of tax rate cuts,
government spending control, regulatory reform, and support
for a sound monetary policy. This program is putting vigor
back into the economy and creating jobs for all Americans.
The recovery program has already achieved important
results. Inflation on the whole, which averaged 12.9% in
1979 and 1980, has been reduced to 2.4% over the past twelve
months -- the lowest level in 17 years. By contrast, if
prices had continued rising in 1981 and 1982 at the same
rate they had during the last two years of the Carter
Administration, a pound of hamburger would have cost 60
cents more, a gallon of gasoline 97 cents more, and the
median-priced new home $11,800 more.
-6-
In particular, these lower inflation rates mean that a
working single mother with two children earning $15,000 per
year has about $1,250 more in purchasing power than she
would have had if inflation had remained at the 1980 rate.
This decline in inflation has also led to lower
interest rates, which had reached a peace-time high of 21.5%
during the last month of the previous Administration. Since
then, the prime rate has been cut nearly in half, and it is
easier for all Americans to buy homes, cars, and household
appliances; the monthly payment on a $50,000 mortgage, for
example, is now $140 less than it was at the higher interest
rates.
Most important, Americans are going back to work as a
result of the strong economic recovery. Since December 1982,
2.5 million new jobs have been created, and the country is
well on its way to the Administration's goal of 5 million
new jobs by the end of 1984 and 15 million new jobs by the
end of 1988. Women are doing particularly well in the
economic recovery: the unemployment rate among adult women
has declined from 9.2% to 8.0%. In fact, women are expected
to fare even better than men throughout the rest of the
recovery primarily because service industries that employ
large numbers of women -- banking, retailing, and data
processing -- are growing faster than manufacturing
industries, where male employees predominate.
Tax Reform
Before President Reagan's tax reforms were enacted in
1981, the federal tax code contained many provisions that
indirectly discriminated against women. Most of these
inequities have been eliminated, and those that remain have
been targeted for change by the Administration.
The so-called "marriage tax" was a prime example of
federal policy that unfairly penalized wage-earning women.
Under the old law, a husband and wife who were both employed
paid more in taxes than a single man and a single woman with
the same total income, which was unfair to a second spouse
-- most often the wife -- working outside the home. As a
private citizen, Ronald Reagan had spoken against this
condition. As a candidate for President, he called for
reform of the marriage tax penalty and in his first economic
address to the Congress after taking office, he pledged
early action on this issue.
The President's Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) of
1981 substantially reduced the "marriage tax." For example,
two-earner families in which each spouse earns about $15,000
will save about $300 a year because of this change.
-7-
This reduction in the "marriage tax" also allows
married women business owners, who constitute two-thirds of
the three million female entrepreneurs, to keep more of
their business earnings. Most female-owned firms are sole
proprietorships, partnerships, or closely held corporations
that pay personal, rather than corporate, income tax. As a
result, they were penalized by the marriage tax. Much of
that unfair tax burden has been eliminated by the
President's reforms.
Women business owners also benefited from ERTA's 25%
reduction in personal income tax rates and from the lowering
of the maximum rate in the personal income tax to 50%. These
reductions have left most businesswomen with more income to
reinvest in their enterprises.
The 1981 tax act also virtually eliminated the estate
tax, a reform that especially helps women, who, on the
average, outlive men by eight years. The new law provides
for unlimited property transfers between spouses and raises
the tax exemption on inherited property from $175,625 in
1981 to $600,000 by 1987, thus preserving intact some 99.7%
of all estates. This reform, too, was first proposed by
Ronald Reagan, both as a Presidential candidate and during
his first economic address to Congress.
ERTA also expanded participation in Individual
Retirement Accounts (IRAs), allowing larger contributions --
up to $2,000 a year -- for those who work outside the home.
Also, homemakers with no earned income may contribute to
their own IRAs as long as the total for both spouses does
not exceed $2250 and neither spouse contributes more than
$2,000.
The new tax law also increased the maximum tax credit
for child care expenses from $400 to $720 per child, making
it easier for working parents to afford day care. The credit
is scaled back for each additional $2,000 of income above
$10,000, and for parents with incomes of $28,000 or more,
the allowable credit remains at $480 per child -- thereby
ensuring that the largest tax break goes to those who need
it most. ERTA also made employer-provided day care a
non-taxable fringe benefit to employees, thus increasing
incentives for both employers and employees to arrange for
child care. And next year, for the first time, the IRS's
1040A short form will contain an additional line for
deducting child care costs, making it easier for low- and
middle-income parents to claim these deductions.
-8-
Employment Initiatives
Women are joining the labor force in growing numbers.
Sixty-eight percent of all women aged 18 to 64 worked at
least part-time in 1981. In that year, 52% of all women over
the age of 16 were in the labor force, up from 43% in 1970
and 34% in 1950.
Women who work outside the home have varied
objectives. Some want to pursue a challenging career, some
need to support themselves, and others want to supplement
the family income with another paycheck. The
Administration's first goal, of course, is to enforce anti-
discrimination statutes in the workplace. But President
Reagan has gone beyond that; he has proposed innovative
government programs that address many further concerns of
working women.
The Administration's Job Training Partnership Act
(JTPA), which replaced the Comprehensive Employment Training
Act (CETA), will provide low-income and low-skilled women
with the training they need to obtain permanent, productive
jobs. At least 90% of the one million JTPA trainees will be
economically disadvantaged persons, many of whom are women.
In fact, the program specifically targets adult recipients
of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the vast
majority of whom are single mothers. Displaced homemakers
will also benefit from JTPA since up to 10% of the
participants may be persons not economically disadvantaged.
The Act cites displaced homemakers among the
non-economically disadvantaged eligible to receive job
training.
To help working parents obtain child care, the
President's 1981 tax reform, as previously noted, provides
increased tax credits for day care, and stipulates that
employer contributions for child care are not taxable to
employees. Furthermore, the White House office of Private
Sector Initatives is meeting with the chief executive
officers of major corporations in an attempt to encourage
them to provide day care services. Similar efforts are being
made by the Women's Bureau regional offices and the
Appalachian Regional Commission. In addition, the Women's
Bureau and the Rockefeller Foundation are jointly sponsoring
four projects to demonstrate innovative ways of providing
care for the children of single parents. Furthermore, states
have traditionally used a very large share of their Social
Service Block Grant funds to support day care for
lower-income families.
To assist parents working for the federal government,
the President signed the Flexible and Compressed Work
Schedules Act of 1982, which permanently allows federal
agencies to adopt "flexitime" schedules for their
-9-
employees. The Administration also supports a proposal by
Senator William Armstrong (R. Colorado) that would allow
federal contractors and subcontractors to provide flexible
and compressed work schedules. These initiatives would
permit working parents to organize their workdays around the
individual needs of their families.
The President has also created several federal programs
that enhance employment for those women who choose to work
outside the home. The Small Business Administration's
Women's Business Intiatives, for example, conducts
conferences across the country that advise and assist women
who own small businesses.
Continuing its long-standing mandate, the Labor
Department's Women's Bureau is developing programs that
address the employment and training needs of women and
providing technical assistance to employers and others at
the local level.
Because of the President's initiatives and the improved
economy, more women than ever who choose to work or
economically need to work now hold jobs. The percentage of
women working outside the home has increased from 48.3
percent in January 1981 to 48.9 percent in July 1983. This
means that 2.1 million more women are working now than when
President Reagan assumed office two-and-one-half years ago.
Social Equity
Although sex discrimination in the workplace has been
greatly reduced, many women still do not have the same
degree of financial independence as do most men. This is
primarily because many women choose to become homemakers,
and a large number of women who work outside the home do not
have the training and experience to obtain jobs paying
enough to support an entire family. As a result, many women
need protection against the financial consequences of
abandonment, divorce, or their husband's death.
Divorce and abandonment of families by fathers is
becoming an increasingly serious problem for millions of
women. Indeed, approximately half the marriages of the 1970s
have ended, or will end, in divorce. Single-parent families,
90% of whom are headed by women, now constitute 22% of all
families and children. There are now 15 million children in
these families today, a 65% increase during the past decade.
-10-
But according to a 1978 Census Bureau study, only 59%
of women potentially eligible to receive child support
awards have been granted them. And less than half of all
women so awarded receive the full amount due them; 28%
receive nothing at all. In sum, children in the United
States are owed $4 billion by delinquent parents. More and
more of these abandoned families have fallen into poverty.
In fact, 36% of families headed by a woman in 1982 had
incomes below the poverty level.
In order to focus the nation's attention on the serious
problem of parents who fail to provide child support,
President Reagan declared August 1983 as National Child
Support Enforcement Month. More important, the President has
proposed effective new measures to ensure that absent
fathers pay child support. This legislation, if enacted into
law, would benefit both families who are on welfare and
those who are not. Under the President's proposal, states
that receive federal support would be required to implement
laws and procedures to increase collections, including
mandatory wage assignments for delinquent parents, state
income tax refund offsets and use of quasi-judicial or
administrative procedures for establishing and enforcing
child support orders. States would also be mandated to
require absent fathers who have private employer-based
insurance coverage to include their children as covered
individuals in these plans.
Because of the Administration's strong support of the
Federal Child Support Enforcement program, absent fathers
paid some $1.8 billion to welfare families through the
federal child support program in 1982, including an
additional $170 million in child support payments that have
resulted from computer matchups of federal income tax
refunds.
Spouses of military personnel were another group of
women, who, due to their unique situation, were unfairly
penalized in the event of divorce. Since they must move
frequently because of their husbands' service commitments,
many military wives find it difficult or impossible to
establish independent careers that would qualify them for a
pension. In 1982, President Reagan signed into law the
Uniformed Services Spouses' Protection Act, which allows the
Defense Department to make military retirement payments to
an ex-spouse in accordance with awards made by a state
court. This law was necessary because of a U.S. Supreme
Court ruling that left many women unable to collect any of
the retirement pay earned by their former husbands if they
remarried. The law also provides that after 20 years of
marriage to an active duty serviceman, a divorced spouse
will continue to receive medical benefits and commissary
privileges.
-11-
The President has also supported legislation to make
womens' private pension systems more fair. This legislation,
endorsed by Administration testimony in August 1983, would
increase pension rights for women in their peak working
years. For example, it would require pension plans to accept
workers as participants at age 21 instead of the current
minimum age of 25, thus providing women, who leave the labor
force more often than men during their middle years, with
four additional years of participation. The legislation
would also ensure that mothers would be able to return to
work after at least 12 months of maternity leave without
being penalized with a break in pension participation. The
legislation would also make clear that pension benefits in
specified cases could be assigned by state courts for child
support and alimony payments. Finally, pension laws would be
changed to enhance the income protection that women, as
potential surviving spouses, have in their husbands'
pensions.
The President also helped enact changes in the Social
Security law that equalized Social Security benefits for
widows and widowers, enabled surviving spouses, whatever
their sex, to continue receiving their deceased spouses'
benefits upon remarriage, and assured fair treatment of
divorced spouses by making them eligible to receive their
former spouses' retirement benefits even if that spouse has
not yet chosen to claim them.
Assistance to Needy Children
Among the good news concerning American children is
that the infant mortality rate, which has been declining for
decades, continues to fall. The rate, 20 infant deaths per
thousand live births in 1970, dropped to 12.5 deaths per
births in 1980, and fell further to 11.2 in 1982.
But unfortunately, because of rising divorce and
illegitimacy rates, more children than ever are being raised
in single-parent homes. And many of these childrens'
mothers, unable to find jobs that allow them to support
their families, are turning to the government for help,
without which their childrens' health and nurturing could be
jeopardized.
President Reagan recognizes the gravity of this
problem. Because he believes that no needy child in the
United States should go hungry or be denied medical
assistance, he has proposed to target federal aid to those
most in need. And, indeed, his budgets have called for more
-- not less -- spending on these programs than in previous
years.
-12-
For example, under President Reagan, AFDC serves one in
eight American children, while Medicaid provides health care
to 10.5 million children -- about one American child in six
-- and 500,000 more beneficiaries than in 1980. The food
stamp program will feed 2.4 million more people than in
1980. And ten million low-income students now get free
school lunches -- about half a million more than the
previous administration's budget provided for.
Children's immunization rates are also up under
President Reagan. In 1980, 91% of childen entering school
were immunized. By 1984, the range will be 95-97 percent.
President Reagan has also increased spending on income
assistance programs -- such as subsidized housing and food
stamps -- that help needy mothers support their children.
Under President Reagan's 1984 budget, spending on social
programs that benefit low-income, unemployed and other needy
groups would be about $11 billion more than in 1981, a 10%
increase. The food stamp program's budget, for example, is
$3.7 billion higher in FY 1983 than it was in FY 1980.
Presidential Appointments
President Reagan appointed more women to full-time top
policy making positions during his first two years in office
than any of his predecessors during a similar period. By the
end of January 1983, he had selected 94 women, compared to
only 76 appointed by the previous Administration in its
first two years. There are also three Cabinet-level rank
women in the Reagan Administration, more than at any one
time in U.S. history.
In all, President Reagan has appointed women to nearly
1100 important positions in the White House and throughout
the executive branch, including 181 for Senior Executive
Service, 584 in GS-13 or above schedule C positions, and 324
for part-time advisory boards.
The President's most significant women appointments
include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the
first woman ever selected to serve on the Supreme Court,
United Nations Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Secretary of
Transportation Elizabeth Dole and Secretary of Health and
Human Services Margaret Heckler. Women also head the Peace
Corps (Loret Ruppe), the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(Nancy Steorts), the U.S. Postal Rate Commission (Janet
Steiger), and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (Barbara
Mahone). The President has also nominated Katherine Ortega
to be Treasurer of the United States.
-13-
Conclusion
President Reagan is a staunch defender of women's
rights -- the right to legal equity and the right to
economic opportunity. He is defending those rights in a
variety of genuinely effective ways -- by vigorously
enforcing anti-discrimination statutes so that women can be
free to pursue their aspirations without being held back by
bias or prejudice. He is working to strengthen laws that
guarantee women fairness in child support cases. And he is
retargeting federal assistance to the neediest families.
Most important, however, the President is pursuing
economic policies that are already improving women's
financial independence. Inflation, the most significant
threat to most women's economic condition well-being, has
been cut dramatically and is now less than 3%. Unemployment
is declining and should continue to do so. As the economy
expands, women's job opportunities will increase, leading to
greater financial security. As President Reagan said on
August 26, 1983, when he addressed a women's leadership
forum:
A growing economy
will help all women:
those who are looking for work, those who
seek to advance up the career ladder, and
yes, those who have families to feed. At
this point, in the pursuit of equality,
economic opportunity provides the greatest,
most immediate advance for women. It's
economic recovery that will produce more
options for women than anything else.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 26, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR FRED F. FIELDING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS
SUBJECT:
New Constitutional Amendment Proposed by
the "Los Angeles Professional Republican
Women, Federated"
Donna Little, founder and President of the fledgling Los
Angeles Professional Republican Women, Federated, has
written Mr. Deaver to suggest that the President offer a new
version of a Constitutional amendment to guarantee equal
rights for women. Little thinks this strategy would help
bridge the purported "gender gap. She does not suggest any
specific wording for the new version, but would be happy to
work on it. Deaver sent Little a brief nonsubstantive
reply, and has asked for our views.
Little's idea is neither theoretically nor practically
sound. Many of the President's objections to the ERA are
based not on the particular language of the proposal but
rather the vehicle of a Constitutional amendment. Any
amendment would ipso facto override the prerogatives of the
States and vest the federal judiciary with broader powers in
this area, two of the central objections to the ERA. The
President's position that a Constitutional amendment is not
necessary to secure equal rights is also not based on
objection to the particular language of the ERA.
As a practical matter, any shift in position on this issue -
and support of a modified ERA would be a dramatic shift -
would likely cause more harm than good. The President would
be perceived as crassly opportunistic, and would risk losing
the devotion of some of his most loyal supporters. I have
listed these concerns in the attached draft memorandum to
Deaver. I do not know if we should reply directly to
Little, rejecting her suggestion, so I have also raised that
question in the Deaver memorandum.
Attachments
112206
LOS ANGELES PROFESSIONAL
REPUBLICAN WOMEN, FEDERATED
September 14, 1983
The Honorable Michael Deaver
Juch
Assistant to the President
Deputy Chief of Staff
heller Ter idea
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
77.
to
Dear Mr. Deaver:
I have been informed that you are presently exploring ways to negate the
recent criticisms levied against the President by certain predominantly Democratic
women's groups.
I
can
bus
W
d." This group presently has twenty-five members (most of whom
are between twenty-five and forty-five years old) and is expanding rapidly. I
am the president of the club.
I am writing because I have a specific su
The Democratic
women's groups which are presently criticizing the President are, I believe,
engaged in a campaign to undermine the President's support among women by
depicting him as "anti-women." This campaign is predicated largely upon the
President's opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment, whose passage they worked
so diligently for. That "ERA," of course, failed to gain the necessary support
among the states, notwithstanding their efforts. Consequently,
opportunity
to
his
el
amone which would be consistent with Republican principles and yet would
address the more legitimate concerns of the women's groups. By proposing his
own "ERA"-one which would be acceptable to the vast majority of Americans, the
President could, simultaneously, unite the nation on this divisive issue, replace the
"anti-women" image created by the women's groups with that of a champion of women's
rights, and capture for his own use the women's groups' favorite weapon in their efforts
to undermine his support.
If you feel a Presidentially sponsored Constitutional amendment would be
feasible, I would be happy to assist in any way I could in the drafting of
same. In any event, I would appreciate your thoughts about the suggestion and
would like to offer whatever assistance you feel I or my group could give in your
endeavors with regard to women's issues.
Very truly yours,
Dma.A.
Donna A. Little
11930 Montana Avenue #203
Los Angeles, California 90049
(213) 826-0996
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 27, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR MICHAEL K. DEAVER
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF
FROM:
FRED F. FIELDING
Onig.
COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
New Constitutional Amendment Proposed by
the "Los Angeles Professional Republican
Women, Federated"
You have asked for our views on a proposal submitted by
Donna A. Little, founder and President of the fledgling Los
Angeles Professional Republican Women, Federated. In her
letter to you of September 14, Little suggested that the
President could capture significant female support by
proposing a new version of a Constitutional amendment to
guarantee equal rights for women.
In our view such a strategy would be ill-advised, both on
theoretical and practical grounds. The President's and the
Administration's opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment is
based in large measure not on the particular language of the
proposal but on the vehicle of a Constitutional amendment.
Any Constitutional amendment would override the prerogatives
of the states and inject the federal judiciary into social
disputes in this area. Our oft-stated position that an
amendment is not necessary to secure equal rights for women
is also not dependent on the particular language of the
Equal Rights Amendment.
As a practical matter, any shift in the President's position
of the sort suggested by Ms. Little would likely be
perceived as crassly opportunistic and hurt the President
more than help him. We would be happy to explain these
concerns to Ms. Little if you think that would be
appropriate.
I recommend no further response at this time.
FFF: JGR:aea 9/26/83
CC: FFFielding
JGRoberts
Subj.
Chron
THE WHITE HOUSE
Ann
WASHINGTON
September 26, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR FRED F. FIELDING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS
SUBJECT:
New Constitutional Amendment Proposed by
the "Los Angeles Professional Republican
Women, Federated"
Donna Little, founder and President of the fledgling Los
Angeles Professional Republican Women, Federated, has
written Mr. Deaver to suggest that the President offer a new
version of a Constitutional amendment to guarantee equal
rights for women. Little thinks this strategy would help
bridge the purported "gender gap. She does not suggest any
specific wording for the new version, but would be happy to
work on it. Deaver sent Little a brief nonsubstantive
reply, and has asked for our views.
Little's idea is neither theoretically nor practically
sound. Many of the President's objections to the ERA are
based not on the particular language of the proposal but
rather the vehicle of a Constitutional amendment. Any
amendment would ipso facto override the prerogatives of the
States and vest the federal judiciary with broader powers in
this area, two of the central objections to the ERA. The
President's position that a Constitutional amendment is not
necessary to secure equal rights is also not based on
objection to the particular language of the ERA.
As a practical matter, any shift in position on this issue -
and support of a modified ERA would be a dramatic shift -
would likely cause more harm than good. The President would
be perceived as crassly opportunistic, and would risk losing
the devotion of some of his most loyal supporters. I have
listed these concerns in the attached draft memorandum to
Deaver. I do not know if we should reply directly to
Little, rejecting her suggestion, so I have also raised that
question in the Deaver memorandum.
Attachments
and
H to "I MKD recound new this no time fuith repune
all
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 26, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR MICHAEL K. DEAVER
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF
FROM:
FRED F. FIELDING
COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
New Constitutional Amendment Proposed by
the "Los Angeles Professional Republican
Women, Federated"
You have asked for our views on a proposal submitted by
Donna A. Little, founder and President of the fledgling Los
Angeles Professional Republican Women, Federated. In her
letter to you of September 14, Little suggested that the
President could capture significant female support by
proposing a new version of a Constitutional amendment to
guarantee equal rights for women.
In our view such a strategy would be ill-advised, both on
theoretical and practical grounds. The President's and the
Administration's opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment is
based in large measure not on the particular language of the
proposal but on the vehicle of a Constitutional amendment.
Any Constitutional amendment would override the prerogatives
of the states and inject the federal judiciary into social
disputes in this area. Our oft-stated position that an
amendment is not necessary to secure equal rights for women
is also not dependent on the particular language of the
Equal Rights Amendment.
As a practical matter, any shift in the President's position
of the sort suggested by Ms. Little would likely be
perceived as crassly opportunistic and hurt the President
more than help him. We would be happy to explain these
concerns to Ms. Little if you think that would be
appropriate.
FFF: JGR:aea 9/26/83
CC: FFFielding
JGRoberts
Subj.
Chron
ID #
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
O OUTGOING
H. INTERNAL
JR
I INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent: Donna A. Little
MI Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: New constitutional amendment proposed org
the "LOS angeles Professional Republican Women,
Federated"
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CULton
ORIGINATOR 83,09,22
/
/
Referral Note:
CNAT 18
D 83,09,22
583,09,23
Referral Note:
/ /
/
/
-
Referral Note:
/ /
/
/
—
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
-
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A Appropriate Action
I - Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A- Answered
C Completed
C - Comment/Recommendation
R . Direct Reply w/Copy
B - - Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D . Draft Response
S For Signature
F - Furnish Fact Sheet
X Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
ID # 172556
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
OUTGOING
H
INTERNAL
INCOMING
Date Correspondence 83/09/20
received (YY/MM/DD)
NAME
OF CORRESPONDENT: Dana A. Little
DC Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
SUBJECT: "hos Angeles Pugressiona
Republicon Women, Federated"
new wesw of enstrtutionl
Americant
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Action
Tracking
Type
Completion
Date
of
Office/Agency (Staff Name)
Code
Date
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
DC six
ORIGINATOR 09/20 PY MD
Referral Note:
DV
BW
/CUFIEL
d 83/09/20
S 83/09/2
Referral Note: Acknowledgment sent
Pranx MKD then referred
Referral Note: on to F.R. for recom.
/
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
A + Appropriate Action
I - info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A - Answered
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
C - Comment/Recommendation
R- Direct Reply w/Copy
B- Non-Special Referral
Code = "A"
D - Draft Response
S - For Signature
C- - Completed
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
F - Furnish Fact Sheet to be
X - Interim Reply
5- Suspended
COMMENTS:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter. Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB). Always return
completed correspondence record to Central Files. Refer questions about the Correspondence Tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590
5/93
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 20, 1983
Dear Ms. Little:
Thank you for your letter of September 14
offering suggestions as to ways the Presi-
dent might counter recent critism from
various women's groups.
I want you to know that your proposal for
a Presidentially sponsored constitutional
amendment will be looked at very closely.
In the meantime, let me thank you, too,
for your offer of assistance. You can be
certain that we will be in touch with you
if the occasion arises.
With best wishes,
Sincerely,
MICHAEL K. DEAVER
Assistant to the President
Deputy Chief of Staff
Ms. Donna A. Little
Los Angeles Professional
Republican Women, Federated
11930 Montana Avenue #203
Los Angeles, CA 90049
WHITE HOUSE TALKING POINTS
OF
PRE PR THE OF SIDENT Visa ES SES THE UNITED LS
Talking Points on
Issues of Interest to Women
October 1983
JOHN ROBERTS
112/OEOB
For additional information, call the White House Office of Public Affairs;
Mike Baroody, Director: 456-7170.
KEY POINTS: THE REAGAN RECORD ON ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE TO
WOMEN
Often ignored or overlooked amid talk of a "gender gap" is
the fact that President Reagan, in less than three years,
has compiled a solid record of achievement on issues that
affect women. That record -- not lip service to the Equal
Rights Amendment -- is the true measure of whether the
President has earned women's support.
The President's Policies are Building a Strong Economy
When Ronald Reagan took office, he inherited a stagnant
economy where growth had stopped, poverty had begun to
rise, inflation hit 13% and interest rates soared.
Women in the workforce faced layoffs. Young career women
couldn't get their starts. Women at home saw inflation
and taxes eating away their family budgets. Elderly and
poor women saw their fixed incomes shrinking.
Today, the President's economic reforms have cut infla-
tion down to 2.6% and interest rates in half. The
economy has revived and homes are more affordable.
Thanks to our progress against inflation, a middle income
family of four on a fixed income of $29,000 would have
$2,832 more purchasing power today than if the 1980 rate
of inflation had continued. Add to that the $700 they've
realized in tax savings and it's clear they're more than
$3,500 better off.
The President is Ensuring Women's Legal Rights and
Protections
President Reagan's Task Force on Legal Equity for Women
was set up to eliminate sex bias in federal regulations
and procedures. The Justice Department has found 140
federal statutes with bias; legislation to correct most
of them has been introduced.
The President's "Fifty States Project" is working with
governors to reform biased state laws. Meanwhile, the
Justice Department won a record $2.7 million discrimi-
nation case, and has filed 19 new employment bias cases
-- ahead of the Carter Administration's pace.
President Reagan Has Appointed Record Numbers of Women
The President made history by appointing the first woman
to the Supreme Court
and more now serve in the
Cabinet (three) than ever before. Twice as many top
White House posts are held by women now as during the
Carter Administration.
More than 1200 women have been named to top government
positions. 105 of these were named by President Reagan
to senior management positions -- compared to 101 during
the first two Carter years.
The President Has Supported a Host of Reforms Benefitting
Women
The "marriage tax penalty," has been virtually eliminated
and the "widow's tax" on surviving spouses' family
property has been eliminated. New rules for individual
retirement accounts now let women contribute more to
their retirement funds.
Maximum child care tax credits have almost doubled and
employer contributions to day care are now non-taxable to
employees. The President authorized flexible hours for
federal workers and has proposed major legislation to
reward states that crack down on absent fathers who don't
pay their child support.
Opportunities for new job training for women receiving
welfare have been provided, and bills to ensure more
equitable pension benefits for women have White House
support.
As the President said recently, "Women are not a monolithic
group. Women in the 1980s are a diverse majority with
varied interests and varied futures." No one can narrowly
define "women's issues." It is in overall terms -- building
a secure, economically strong America -- that President
Reagan has best served the interests of women and men alike.
#
#
#
2
TALKING POINTS: WHAT THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION IS DOING FOR
WOMEN
What follows is a series of one-page summaries with further
detail on the Reagan record on issues of interest to women.
The record is a good one, even an outstanding one. But no
record really ever speaks for itself. We have to speak for
it, to get. the facts out more widely and make them better
known.
Some of the President's critics suggest opposition to the
Equal Rights Amendment defines his record. That's not true
and it's not fair.
The following pages cover the wide range of issues from
legal equity to child care and tax reform. It is on that
longer list of important concerns that the record should be
judged.
3
WE'RE BUILDING A STRONG ECONOMY
Then -- By 1979, economic growth had stopped in America, and
poverty had started to rise. Inflation hit 13%,
interest rates soared with the prime over 21%.
Taxes were going through the roof. How did that
hurt women?
- Young women starting careers faced shrinking job
opportunities in a stagnant economy.
- Recently-hired women were often first in line for
layoffs based on lack of seniority.
- Wives and mothers at home saw inflation eating
away at their family budgets. From the start of
1979 to the end of 1980, a family on a fixed
income of $20,000 lost over $4000 in buying
power.
- Elderly and poor women on fixed incomes suffered.
The purchasing power of a poor family's fixed
$10,000 a year income at the start of 1979 had
shrunk to less than $8000 by the end of 1980.
Now -- Today, less than two years after President Reagan's
reforms took effect, the American economy has turned
around and is recovering strongly.
- Inflation has been cut to just 2.6%. The prime
interest rate has been cut in half -- down to 11%.
Unemployment for women and men is easing.
Industrial production, growth, sales, productivity
and consumer confidence are all up from a year ago.
And all that adds up to an expanding economy with
better career opportunities.
- The Reagan tax cuts are letting all taxpayers --
men and women -- keep more of what they earn.
Without the Reagan tax cuts, the 1982 bill for a
$20,000 family would have been $228 higher. And
indexing tax rates will save the average taxpayer
$1,267 through 1988.
- For women in the workforce, and for women in the
home, lower taxes and inflation mean more
purchasing power
$2,832 more than if the
1980 rate of inflation had continued for a middle
income family of four earning $29,000.
- For about 10 million families who couldn't afford
to own homes three years ago, home mortgages are
affordable again.
4
WE'RE MAKING SURE WOMEN RECEIVE THE LEGAL RIGHTS AND
PROTECTIONS DUE THEM UNDER LAW
President Reagan believes existing Constitutional
and legal guarantees can assure equal rights and correct
discrimination against women. Existing laws must be
rigorously enforced and, in some cases, strengthened.
The President, in December, 1981, created a Task Force
on Legal Equity for Women to work with the Justice
Department in finding and changing any federal
laws or regulations that unfairly discriminate against
women. Justice has identified 140 federal statutes with
sex-based distinctions. Proposed legislation will
correct all but 18 of them. Six are under study; the
remainder, which favor women, will remain intact.
President Reagan -- based on his own successful
experience as California Governor -- set up the "Fifty
States Project," to encourage and help governors find
and change state laws that show bias against women.
Already, 42 states have begun searches; 26 states are
fixing their existing laws.
The Justice Department in the Reagan Administration
has filed 19 new cases charging sex discrimination in
employment. That's better than the Carter Administra-
tion's track record during a comparable time.
Last year, the Justice Department won a record-breaking
Title VII recovery against Fairfax County, Virginia --
obtaining $2.75 million on behalf of 685 women and blacks
who had been victims of discrimination.
5
WE'RE APPOINTING RECORD NUMBERS OF WOMEN TO TOP POSITIONS IN
GOVERNMENT
Never before in American history had a woman sat on the
U.S. Supreme Court. President Reagan changed that by
appointing Sandra Day O'Connor to the highest court
in the land.
Never before in American history had as many as three
women served in a President's Cabinet at the same time.
President Reagan made history by naming Jeane Kirkpatrick
as Ambassador to the United Nations, Elizabeth Dole as
Secretary of Transportation and Margaret Heckler as
Secretary of Health and Human Services (the largest
government department in the world).
Women also head the Peace Corps, the Consumer Product
Safety Commission, the U.S. Postal Rate Commission,
the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Review Commission, and the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission.
The Reagan Administration has appointed more than 1200
women to important government positions as of mid-August
-- 891 of them to full-time top level policy positions
(GS-13 and above). To the highest positions (named
personally by the President) 105 women were named in
the first 2 Reagan Administration years. Only 101
were named in the first 2 Carter years. Since last
January, the total has grown to 126.
57% of all Reagan political appointments (Schedule C)
have gone to women. Twice as many top White House staff
jobs are filled by women as under President Carter
(24 to 12).
6
WE'RE MAKING TAX AND OTHER REFORMS TO HELP WOMEN AT WORK AND
IN THE FAMILY
A Reagan Administration-backed reduction in the "marriage
tax penalty" is saving a couple earning $15,000 each
about $345 in taxes this year alone.
Reform of the rules governing Individual Retirement
Accounts (IRAs) now permits women who work outside the
home to make larger contributions and allows for an
additional yearly contribution of $500 to a joint IRA
by women who do not work outside the home.
The so-called "widow's tax" -- the estate tax levied on
a surviving spouse -- has been eliminated. In addition,
special estate tax relief has been provided for family
farm spouses and small business owners' spouses.
Tax credits for child care have almost doubled -- from
$400 for one child to a maximum of $720. Employer
contributions to day care are now non-taxable to em-
ployees. President Reagan signed into law an extension
of flexible schedules for parents who work in
federal agencies
and he is encouraging better private
sector child care.
President Reagan is pressing for tough new enforcement
of child support payments to women who aren't getting
them. Under the Reagan Administration, support collec-
tions are up by two thirds nationally (from $1.5 to
$2.4 billion FY 80-84 projected). The President was a
leader in this fight as Governor of California, and
has proposed new legislation to end the disgrace of non-
support by absent fathers by rewarding states that
crack down.
To ensure fair and more equitable pension benefits for
women, Administration-supported legislation has been
introduced to enhance pension benefits for women both
as earners and as spouses.
For low-income women receiving Aid to Families With
Dependent Children, the Reagan Administration has
increased training opportunities to help them get
permanent jobs, through the new Job Training Partner-
ship Act.
7
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
Giving Mothers and Children Their Just Due
More than four million women were due child support
payments in 1981, but over half of them received partial
payments or none at all cheating children out of $4
billion a year and forcing many families onto the welfare
rolls. The President is taking administrative and
legislative steps to solve this serious problem.
Last year, the Reagan Administration began to use IRS
procedures to collect child support from delinquent
parents' income tax refunds. This yielded more than
$168 million in FY 1982. Also, the Department of HHS
improved its Parent Locator Service and is helping state
and local enforcement through technical assistance.
Absent parents' ability to use bankruptcy as a loophole
to avoid child support payments was repealed.
Total collections are now up almost two thirds (from
$1.5 to $2.4 billion projected from Fiscal Year 1980 to
1984). As a result, some 77,000 families were able to
get off welfare in fiscal "81 and '82.
Legislatively, the President has proposed major improve-
ments in the Child Support Enforcement Program (which was
created by Congress in 1975, and pays states' administra-
tive costs of collecting money from delinquent parents).
The President's proposals would improve state collection
of child support for both welfare and non-welfare
families. Until now, the major thrust had only been
directed at absent parents of welfare families and states
had little incentive to increase collections. In fact,
nineteen states actually spend more than they collect.
The Reagan proposal would pay bonuses to states with
superior records in collecting support for welfare and
non-welfare families.
The proposal requires states to adopt proven effective
enforcement techniques -- mandatory wage deductions from
delinquent parents' paychecks, interception of state
income tax refunds, and creation of administrative or
quasi-judicial processes to expedite issuing and
enforcing child support orders in court. In addition,
there would be more and better audits of state compli-
ance, and special grants for states to set up automated
systems and clearinghouses for tracking down
delinquencies.
8
ENFORCEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION
In Schools, On the Job, In Finances
In Education
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act prohibits sex
discrimination in any educational program receiving
federal financial assistance. Under President Reagan,
the Justice Department has vigorously enforced this
protection. For example, in Pavey and U.S. V. University
of Alaska, we argued that Title IX prevents the
university from discriminating in athletic programs on
the basis of sex. In the consent decree, the university
agreed to maintain equal facilities and provide equal
financial aid, recruitment and publicity of its male and
female athletic programs.
In an ongoing suit, U.S. V. Massachusetts Maritime
Academy, we challenged the academy's male-only admis-
sions policy; the academy has opened its doors to women,
and litigation is proceeding concerning admissions
criteria and recuitment practices. The Justice
Department intervened in a case against the Kentucky
prison system, in which the court ruled that prison
authorities had discriminated against women in education
and training programs.
Last term in North Haven Board of Education V. Bell,
Justice argued successfully that Title IX reaches and
prohibits discriminatory employment practices. The
language, legislative history and Supreme Court opinion
in North Haven indicates that Title IX was intended to be
"program specific" rather than encompassing an entire
educational institution.
Accordingly, in Grove City College V. Bell, Justice
argued that federal assistance to students through the
college's financial aid program makes that program
subject to Title IX protection for women.
In Employment and Credit Rights
The Justice Department has filed 19 new cases alleging
sex discrimination in employment -- exceeding the
previous Administration's record during a comparable time
period
and has brought to conclusion six other cases
filed during the last Administration.
9
Last year, the Justice Department achieved a record-
breaking Title VII recovery against Fairfax County,
Virginia, obtaining $2.75 million on behalf of 685 women
and blacks who were victims of discrimination.
In the wake of Newport News V. EEOC, Justice has
authorized the filing of 7 new cases alleging discrimi-
nation under the Pregnancy Disability Act. In Newport
News, Justice successfully argued that an employer could
not deny pregnancy disability benefits to a spouse of a
male worker when other types of spousal disability
benefits are available.
In Hishon V. King and Spaulding, which will be heard
during the Supreme Court's next term, the Justice
Department is arguing that Title VII prohibits law firms
from refusing to consider women associates for
partnership on an equal basis with their male
counterparts.
The Justice Department has moved decisively to enforce
the Equal Credit Opportunity Act which prohibits dis-
crimination in the extension of credit based on sex or
marital status. Two cases have been filed and two are
under investigation.
In fiscal year 1982, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission obtained more than $100 million in back
pay for victims of employment discrimination -- a 74%
increase over the final year of the previous
administration.
10
TASK FORCE ON LEGAL EQUITY FOR WOMEN
Finding Discrimination in Federal Laws and Rules
Background:
December 21, 1981: President Reagan directed the
Attorney General to complete the nearly ten-year old
review of sex-biased federal statutes. He created the
Task Force on Legal Equity for Women to work with
Justice in finding and cataloging sex-biased laws and
rules so that they can be changed. (Task Force is
composed of representatives from 21 Departments and
Agencies.)
June 1981: The first Justice report identified more than
100 such statutes.
October 1982: Senator Dole introduced Administration-
supported legislation to change most of the statutes
(reintroduced in this session as S. 501).
Fall 1982: Justice authorized an updated computer search
to identify missing statutes.
December 1982: Justice transmitted a second status
report which described and updated the search.
July 1983: Justice submitted the third report which
identified 140 sex-biased statutes
the most
comprehensive and thorough review of its kind in history.
Of these, Administration-backed legislation and proposed
amendments will correct all but 18. Six are under study;
the remainder, which favor women, will remain intact.
More progress has been made to eliminate sex-biased
federal statutes than in any previous Administration.
(The original effort began under President Ford and
continued under President Carter.)
All 42 federal departments and agencies are conducting a
review of their own regulations and policies to find any
bias. The results will come out in the Attorney
General's Fourth Quarterly Report.
11
PENSION REFORM
Toward Fairness in Retirement
President Reagan, on September 29, proposed major new
legislation aimed at ensuring fairness for women in
pension benefits. Titled the "Pension Equity Act of
1983," the President's proposals would eliminate many of
the inequities that have proven unfair to women who earn
and receive pension benefits. The bill reforms the
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal
Revenue Code.
His legislation fulfills a promise President Reagan made
in his 1983 State of the Union Message, to seek greater
pension fairness for women.
The Reagan proposal helps women before they retire by:
-- protecting women on maternity leave from incurring a
break in service, which now makes them lose past
credit for pension participation, vesting and benefit
accrual;
-- lowering ERISA age requirements for pension partici-
pation from 25 to 21. This means private pension
plans can no longer exclude women on account of age
from earning pension credits during those very years
when their participation in the labor force is
highest. This will bring a million and a half more
women workers into pension coverage. The bill also
lowers from 22 to 21 the minimum age for vesting.
The Reagan proposal helps survivors and divorced spouses
by:
-- making survivor annuity payments available to more
women by making a joint and survivor annuity the
presumed form of benefit payout for any pension plan
that offers an annuity as an optional form of payment;
-- giving employees automatic survivor annuity coverage
when they reach early retirement age. This protects
a surviving spouse from ending up with no pension
benefits if the employee should die without having
elected survivor coverage;
12
-- letting more surviving spouses receive survivor
annuities by permitting participants to chose
survivor coverage without waiting the presently-
required two years before the choice can become
effective;
-- letting a spouse who is divorced after her annuity
payments start, continue receiving them after her
former husband's death, rather than letting the
survivor annuity revert back to the pension fund;
-- letting a spouse obtain, under terms of a court
order, a fair portion of her husband's pension for
child support, alimony and her share of the marital
property;
[The employee's ability to get favorable tax
treatment is not harmed by the payment of part of
the benefits to a former spouse, and at the same
time the spouse can roll over her lump-sum pay-
ment into an Individual Retirement Account of her
own];
-- giving spouses, for the first time, the right to have
a veto over whether the employee can opt out of joint
and survivor coverage; and,
-- requiring that more frequent information be given to
employees and spouses concerning how much money the
spouse would lose if the employee died before a
certain date
thereby letting the spouse know
where she stands financially.
The proposed changes will complement recent landmark
Supreme Court decisions -- strongly endorsed by the
Reagan Administration -- holding that pension benefits
must not discriminate on the basis of sex.
13
50 STATES PROJECT
Correcting Bias at the State Level
The 50 States Project was established by President Reagan
in 1981 to help governors find and correct state laws
and regulations that discriminate against women.
(The President followed that same approach as Governor
of California, and achieved one of the best equal rights
records in the nation.)
Progress is being made. To date, 42 states have under-
taken searches. (Of the eight that have not partici-
pated, two have state-passed ERAs). Twenty-six states
have revised their codes or are doing so now.
The Project also identifies unnecessary state and local
restrictions that inhibit private child care and
encourages local governments to change those
restrictions.
14
CHILD CARE
Incentives and New Ideas
The maximum child care tax credits to working parents
were nearly doubled by the Economic Recovery Tax Act of
1981 -- from $400 for one child to $720.
Because of the Tax Act, employers have new incentives to
include prepaid day care in their benefit packages by
making them non-taxable to employees.
The Department of Labor Women's Bureau with the
Rockefeller Foundation, is funding four demonstration
projects to demonstrate innovative ways of providing care
for the children of working mothers.
The President's Office of Private Sector Initiatives is
meeting with chief executive officers of major corpora-
tions in attempts to encourage them to provide day care
services for their employees as a non-taxable fringe
benefit.
States and localities are being encouraged through the
White House-based 50 States Project to identify and relax
any restrictions that inhibit private day care. We're
also encouraging states to use workfare and work-study
programs to provide child care.
The President proposed on October 24, 1983 changing the
tax code to provide new incentives for taxpayers to
support non-profit dependent care organizations. The
change would permit non-profit dependent care organi-
zations to be treated as tax-exempt organizations whether
or not they were organized for charitable or educational
purposes.
The President supports restructuring the dependent care
tax credit so that more benefits would be available for
low and middle income taxpayers. This proposal, made
October 24, 1983 would provide a credit equal to 40
percent of qualifying dependent care expenses for
taxpayers with incomes of $10,000 or less, reduced on a
sliding scale to 10 percent for taxpayers with incomes of
$50,000 and phased out entirely for taxpayers with
incomes above $60,000.
15
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
A History-Making Record for Women
There are 3 women in the Reagan Cabinet, more at one time
than ever before in history. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
is the first woman on the Supreme Court; Jeane Kirk-
patrick is the first woman to serve as U.N. Ambassador
with Cabinet rank.
In his first two years in office:
-- The President chose more women for full-time top
policy making positions than any of his predecessors
-- 105 women, compared to only 101 by the previous
Administration during a comparable period.
-- President Reagan appointed more than twice the number
of women to top White House staff positions commis-
sioned) than his predecessor (24 to 12).
-- The President also was ahead in part-time PA/PAS
appointments (276 to Carter's 260) if the previous
Administration's appointments to two now defunct
panels (National Commission on Observance of
International Women's Year and the National Advisory
Committee for Women) are excluded.
Overall (as of mid-August), President Reagan has selected
women for more than 1200 important Administration posi-
tions (126 for PA/PAS full-time positions, 181 for Senior
Executive Service, 584 for GS-13 or above Schedule C
positions, and 324 for part-time Presidential advisory
boards). Fifty-seven percent of all Schedule C
appointments have gone to women.
Women head the Departments of Transportation (Elizabeth
Dole), and HHS (Margaret Heckler), the Peace Corps (Loret
Ruppe), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Nancy
Harvey Steorts), the U.S. Postal Rate Commission (Janet
Steiger), the Federal Labor Relations Authority (Barbara
Mahone), and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Admin-
istration (Rosemary Collyer).
16
TAX AND OTHER ECONOMIC REFORMS
For Women at Home and in the Workforce
The "marriage tax penalty" has been greatly reduced --
saving two-earner couples about $345 a year (each making
about $15,000).
Individual retirement account (IRA) rules have been
liberalized to let women who work outside the home and
homemakers with no earner income contribute more.
In order to recognize the value of a non-working spouse
and to provide greater retirement savings, the President
proposed on October 24, 1983 raising the spousal IRA
limit from $2,250 to $4,000. This means that the amount
which a family could invest in an IRA would not be
affected by whether both spouses work. The main
beneficiaries of this new provision would be women not
employed outside the home and those with part-time
earnings of less than $2,000.
The President also supported on October 24, 1983 changing
the law to permit a divorced individual to contribute
taxable alimony income to an IRA without regard to
whether spousal IRA contributions were made for the
individual before the divorce.
The so-called "widow's tax" -- the estate taxes levied on
a surviving spouse -- has been eliminated. In addition,
special estate tax relief has been provided for family
farm spouses and small business owners' spouses.
The maximum child-care tax credit has been raised from
$400 for one child of a working family to $720.
Other reforms include: A sex-neutral definition of
poverty to ensure that the needs of women are evaluated
by the same criteria as those of men; a law permitting
state courts to divide military retirement benefits in
divorce settlements; a law authorizing federal agencies
to adopt permanent "flexitime" schedules for their
employees.
The 25% tax rate reduction is of direct benefit to the
growing number of women who own their own businesses and
file returns as individuals rather than corporations.
17
VICTIMS OF CRIME
Restoring Balance to the Criminal Justice System
Serious crime dropped 4% in 1982, compared to 1981 -- the
first annual decrease in the crime rate in five years.
To address the needs of victims, President Reagan created
the Task Force on Victims of Crime in 1982. The fol-
lowing October, he signed into law the Victim and Witness
Protection Act which offers protection and restitution to
victims as well as freedom from intimidation for
witnesses.
The Justice Department has launched a major victims ini-
tiative to implement the recommendations of the Presi-
dent's Task Force. Among the priority activities will
be: establishment of a national victims resource center;
development of model legislation for use by state and
local governments to improve treatment of victims; and
training guidelines and programs for criminal justice
personnel and others who deal with crime victims.
The Justice Department has created a Family Violence Task
Force to study family violence, particularly violence
against children, spouse abuse, and mistreatment of the
elderly. It will recommend how government can better
prevent family violence and improve the treatment of its
innocent victims -- many of whom are women and young
girls.
Justice and the FBI are holding joint conferences to
improve investigations and prosecutions of sexual assault
crimes
and to assist victims.
The Department established formal Guidelines for Victim
and Witness Assistance to ensure better treatment of
victims and witnesses of crime in the federal criminal
justice system, by federal investigators and prosecutors.
Anti-crime initiatives include: a new national strategy
to cripple organized crime and drug trafficking; a new
National Center for State and Local Law Enforcement
Training; and twelve interagency crime task forces in key
regions of the country. (These are patterned after the
highly-successful South Florida effort, which sharply
reduced violent crime and drug trafficking there.)
To make sure criminals are put and kept behind bars, the
President proposed a major reform of the federal criminal
laws -- the "Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1983."
This legislation would toughen bail, standardize
sentencing, change the insanity defense, and tighten
narcotics enforcement provisions.
18
SOCIAL SECURITY
A Compromise That Saved The System
Women have a huge stake in the health of the Social
Security system. Of the 36 million adult Social Security
beneficiaries, 54% are women.
By November 1982, despite President Reagan's repeated
warnings, Social Security faced bankruptcy. The
retirement trust fund ran out of money and had to borrow
$17 billion to put its checks in the mail. Many people
predicted that Social Security had become such a
political football, any rescue plan was doomed to
failure.
But President Reagan refused to give up trying to save
Social Security, and his persistence paid off. In 1983,
working with Congress on Social Security Reform, the
President achieved a compromise solution skeptics had
thought impossible. Congress passed a fair, balanced
$169 billion rescue plan to bring the trust fund
shortfall down by 1989, restoring fund reserves to a safe
level. For the long term, the rescue plan eliminates the
75 year shortfall which had threatened the system.
Indexing of survivor benefits was adjusted to better
reflect changes in the economy, since the death of the
worker.
The level of survivors benefits for disabled widows
of ages 50-59 was increased to 71.5 percent of the
deceased worker's benefits; previously the benefit was
only 50 percent at age 50, phasing up to 71.5 percent at
age 60.
19
BUDGET FAIRNESS
Unfairness Charges Are Unfair
Historical Perspective on Social Spending
The President's January 1983 budget request for FY 1984
contained one-half trillion dollars for non-defense
spending exclusive of interest. In constant 1983 dollars
that was down four percent from 1981, but it was 95
percent higher than in 1970. A budget which spends
nearly twice as much as in 1970 after adjusting for
inflation cannot be neglecting domestic welfare entirely.
From that one-half trillion in the President's January
request -- $424 billion was for transfer payments and
social programs. Everything else from the FBI to farm
subsidies to national parks amounted to only $75 billion.
If no more reforms are adopted, the federal government
will spend over $2.2 trillion on entitlement programs in
the next five years.
Even if additional reforms in the President's 1984 budget
request are adopted, the federal government will spend
over $2.1 trillion on these programs in the next five
years. That is over half a trillion more than is planned
for defense.
The Reagan budget request for 1984 would have the federal
government spending over two and one-half times what it
spent in 1970 -- in real terms -- on assistance to the
poor (means-tested entitlements)
The 1984 request for spending on the poor (for means-
tested entitlements) would reduce the previous Admin-
istration's request by less than five percent in real
terms.
There have been cuts, but they have hardly been draconian
as critics charge.
Program Goals
The problem President Reagan set out to solve was not
that government was doing too much for the needy, but
that it was doing too much for the non-needy.
20
Also, some of the programs to help the poor had the
effect of keeping them poor, and dependent on government.
During the recession (which started before the Reagan
budget took effect) budget cuts and program reforms were
an easy target for partisan critics. It was recession
that was hurting -- but they blamed the program.
21
THE SAFETY NET
Keeping it Intact
Safety net spending in next year's budget is up $67.6
billion since 1981 -- almost 28 percent higher.
Actual cash and medical assistance to the needy is also
up and the number of people served by programs such as
Medicaid, AFDC, and SSI has increased by a half million.
The poor are hurt most by high inflation -- and helped
most when it is under control.
The average AFDC family's benefit in the 1970s increased
by one-third but high inflation in that decade eroded its
purchasing power so they could buy a third less at the
end of the decade than they could at the start even
though the family had more money.
In contrast now, a poor family totally dependent on AFDC,
food stamps and Medicaid has $400 more purchasing power
than if inflation were still at 1980 rates.
Overall, even if reforms proposed for 1984 are enacted,
spending on low-income assistance programs for the poor
will be over two and one-half times greater in real
terms than in 1970.
The charge is made that the Reagan reforms have cut
massive numbers from the rolls of safety-net programs.
The fact is:
-- There will be 500,000 more Medicaid beneficiaries in
1984 than in 1980;
-- Food Stamps are benefitting 2.4 million more
people this year than in 1980.
22
WELFARE
Reagan Reforms Are Working
Welfare reforms passed in 1981 were designed to lower
costs, maintain the safety net and reduce dependency on
government assistance for welfare families.
A recently published independent study shows these
objectives have been met and that critics of the reforms
-- who said they would drive the working poor to quit
their jobs and go on welfare -- were wrong.
The reforms lowered the income level at which working
families could qualify for AFDC (Aid to Families with
Dependent Children).
Prior to reform, in at least 18 states, families with
incomes as high or higher than half the workers in the
country could qualify for welfare. (1981 median income
for all workers was about $15,000).
The welfare reforms saved about $1 billion in federal
outlays and nearly as much for the states. (Since
reform, 22 states have increased benefits for needy
recipients, putting the money saved to good use.)
Contrary to critics' predictions, people who lost welfare
benefits did not quit their jobs to go back on welfare in
any greater proportion than before the reforms -- because
most would prefer to work than live off government. The
reforms strengthened incentives for them to do SO.
About 15 percent left their jobs after the reforms -- the
same percentage as did before the reforms.
The benefits for the truly needy remain in place, with
AFDC benefits actually up in many states.
The President has acted to remove sex-biased discrimina-
tion in welfare benefits. AFDC rules now refer to the
principal earner rather than to the father, as previously
done.
23
FOOD STAMPS AND OTHER NUTRITION PROGRAMS
Reforms for Marked Improvement
Spending for the Food Stamp program this year (FY83) is
$3.7 billion higher than in 1980.
Over 2.5 million more people are getting benefits than in
1980 which was a recession year. (19.3 million then
versus 21.7 million now -- the highest number of
recipients ever.)
Many "cuts" have come from program reforms designed to
make sure benefits go to those who are needy -- and not
to those who aren't.
Average benefits have risen faster than inflation since
1980, and reforms have made it possible to remove some
875,000 non-needy from the rolls.
Though program spending has grown almost 45 percent since
1980, spending growth has been cut. Without the reforms,
it would have grown about 65 percent -- another $1.7
billion.
Proposed cuts for FY84 will total close to $800 million
from:
-- substantial caseload reductions as recovery puts
people back to work;
--- efforts to reduce waste and fraud, estimated to cost
up to $1 billion a year.
-- a work experience program to help recipients become
more self-sufficient.
School Lunches
Over 10 million low-income children are getting free
lunches -- about a half-million more than projected in
the prior Administration's budget.
Before the Reagan reforms, large portions of the school
lunch budget were going to subsidize lunches for middle
and upper-income students.
The reforms have drastically cut back these subsidies.
(They've been cut back for families making roughly twice
the poverty level or more.)
As a result, more needy kids are getting free lunches and
fewer affluent children are getting cut-rate lunches at
taxpayer expense.
24
WIC
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants receive
food assistance averaging $30 per month to supplement
their dietary needs.
One out of five babies born this year will benefit from
the WIC program. Overall, 2.7 million women, infants and
children are being served by the program.
Spending for WIC has increased from $774 million in 1980
to over $1.1 billion in 1983.
25
JOBS AND UNEMPLOYMENT
A Brightening Outlook for Men and Women
The civilian unemployment rate fell 1.5 percentage points
since last December.
A recovering economy created over 2.8 million jobs this
year.
The unemployment rate rose more or less steadily (with
monthly fluctuations) from late 1979 on. That trend is
reversed and (also with monthly fluctuations) it should
decline even more.
Three times in the last 15 years, inflationary surges
have been followed by increasing unemployment.
The record unemployment levels of 1982 fit this pattern.
They came in the wake of the record inflation rates of
1979-80.
Past patterns suggest that if inflation stays down,
unemployment will keep coming down. But a turn-around in
policy -- back to tax and spend -- will turn the
inflation rate around and rising unemployment would be
sure to follow.
The Administration expects growth to create some 4
million new jobs by the end of next year. A rise of over
2.8 million in total employment since last December is a
good start toward that goal.
The Job Training Partnership Act -- the Administration's
replacement for the ineffective CETA program -- specifies
that AFDC beneficiaries must be served on an equitable
basis in its job training programs. This is the first
time the government's major job training program has
targeted such women.
26
WOMEN IN THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION
Three women serve in the Reagan Cabinet, more at any one
time than in any other Administration in history -- Jeane
Kirkpatrick as the first woman UN Ambassador, Elizabeth Dole
as the first woman to serve as Secretary of Transportation,
and Margaret Heckler to head Health and Human Services, the
largest federal agency.
Women are well represented in all areas of the Administra-
tion, serving in high-level positions throughout the govern-
ment. In many cases, they serve in non-traditional
positions in areas generally represented by men. While this
is not intended to be a complete list of top women, their
numbers include:
In The White House
Women have held twice as many top White House staff posts
as under President Carter (24 to 12) during a comparable
time period.
Faith Whittlesey, Assistant to the President for Public
Liaison, holds the highest rank, followed by three Deputy
Assistants to the President: Becky Norton Dunlop
(Presidential Personnel) Karna Small (Media Relations
and Planning) and Pamela Turner (Legislative Affairs)
Among the Special Assistants to the President are:
Judith Buckalew, Mary Jo Jacobi, Dee Jepsen, and Catalina
Villalpando (Public Liaison) ; Nancy Kennedy and Nancy
Risque (Legislative Affairs) ; Pamela Bailey (Public
Affairs) ; Margaret Tutwiler (Office of the Chief of
Staff) ; Anne Higgins (Presidential Correspondence) ; and,
Dodie Livingston (Presidential Messages)
Also at the Special Assistant level, Sherrie Cooksey
serves as Associate Counsel to the President.
Helene von Damm -- formerly Assistant to the President,
now the first female Ambassador to Austria -- was the
first woman in history to direct Presidential Personnel,
overseeing all the President's hiring and recruitments.
27
In International Affairs and Defense
Loret Ruppe is Director of the Peace Corps.
Two women serve in high ranking posts at the State
Department: Joan Clark as Director General of the
Foreign Service and Selwa Roosevelt as Chief of Protocol.
Five women serve as Ambassadors. For example, Helene von
Damm, Ambassador to Austria; Jean Gerard, Ambassador,
U.S. Permanent Representative to UNESCO; Jane Coon,
Ambassador to Bangladesh; Rozanne Ridgway, Ambassador to
the German Democratic Republic; and Virginia Schaefer,
Ambassador to the Solomon Islands.
The State Department has seen a 10.8% increase in the
proportion of women in officer-level entrants (34.4% were
women in 1983 compared to 23.6% in 1979).
Just since 1980, the Defense Department has grown from
31% to 34% women in civilian positions and from 8.4% to
9.1% women in the uniformed services.
Three women serve as Assistant Administrators of the
Agency for International Development -- more than in any
past Administration: Toni Ford, Julia Chang Bloch, and
Elise duPont.
Other women who have served in high-level defense and
international positions include: Susan Crawford, General
Counsel of the Army; Rita Rodriguez, Member of the Board
of Directors of the Export-Import Bank; Veronica Haggart,
Member of the U.S. International Trade Commission; Anne
Armstrong, Chairman of PFIAB and Harriet Scott, Member of
U.S. Arms Control Advisory Committee.
In Business and Finance
Katherine Ortega is the second Hispanic American to serve
as U.S. Treasurer.
Susan Liebeler has been nominated to the International
Trade Commission.
Ann McLaughlin is Assistant Secretary of Treasury. Arlene
Triplett, as Assistant Secretary of Commerce, oversees
35,000 employees and a $2 billion budget. Mary Jarratt,
as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Food and
Consumer Services, has responsibility for programs
totaling $19 billion. Judith Tardy is Assistant
Secretary for Administration at the Department of Housing
and Urban Development.
28
Mary Ann Cohen serves on the U.S. Tax Court.
Elizabeth Burkhart is a Board Member of the National
Credit Union Administration.
Within the Office of Management and Budget, Constance
Horner is Associate Director for Economics and
Government. Dorothy Tella is the first woman to serve as
Chief Statistician.
Three women serve in the top positions within the U.S.
Mint -- Donna Pope, Director; Nora Hussey, Superinten-
dent; Elizabeth Jones, Engraver (the first woman to hold
this post).
In the Commerce Department alone, 40% of the non-career
high level SES positions are filled by women.
Susan M. Phillips is Chairman of the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission -- the first woman to Chair this
Commission.
Over half of the Senior Staff in the Federal Trade
Commission is made up of women.
In Transportation
Diane Steed is Administrator of the National Highway
Safety Administration and Pat Goldman serves on the
National Transportation Safety Board, designated Vice
Chairman by President Reagan.
Barbara McConnell, Diane Morales, and Georgia Schaffer
are Members of the Civil Aeronautics Board.
Heather Gradison is a member of the Interstate Commerce
Commission and Jane Holt has been nominated for the ICC.
In Justice, Personnel Management and Regulatory Areas
Lois Herrington serves as Assistant Attorney General in
the Department of Justice.
Janet Steiger is Commissioner of the Postal Rate
Commission.
Mimi Dawson is Commissioner of the Federal Communica-
tions Commission.
29
Faith Evans is U.S. Marshall in Hawaii.
Mary Wieseman is Inspector General of the Small Business
Administration. June Brown is Inspector General at NASA.
Barbara Mahone heads the Federal Labor Relations
Authority and Patricia Diaz Dennis is a Member of the
National Labor Relations Board.
Linda Chavez is Staff Director of the Commission on Civil
Rights and Cathie Shattuck is Vice Chairman of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission.
Carole Pavilack serves on the U.S. Parole Commission.
Nancy Harvey Steorts is Chairman of the Consumer Product
Safety Commission, which has responsibility of ensuring
the safety of 15,000 kinds of consumer products. Saundra
Brown Armstrong is a nominee for the Commission.
Loretta Cornelius is Deputy Director of the Office of
Personnel Management and Maria Johnson is a Vice Chairman
of the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Christine Nettesheim is Judge of the U.S. Claims Court.
In Energy and Environmental Areas
Within the Department of Energy, the President appointed
three women to key positions. Georgiana Sheldon was
reappointed as Commissioner of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission; Martha Hesse became one of eight
Assistant Secretaries of Energy; and Rosslee Douglas was
selected Director of Minority Economic Impact.
Rosemary Collyer is Chairman of the Federal Mine Safety
and Health Review Commission.
Josephine Cooper is Assistant Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency and Nancy Maloley is a
Member of the Council on Environmental Quality.
In 1982, women constituted 51% of total employees at
the Energy Department.
In Housing, Health and Human Services
Two women serve at the Assistant Secretary level at the
Department of Education: Anne Graham and Madeline Will.
30
Judith Tardy serves as Assistant Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.
Within the giant Department of Health and Human Services
(which is the largest government department in the
world), women serving as Assistant Secretaries include
Dorcas Hardy, and Stephanie Lee-Miller (designate).
The $76 billion Medicare and Medicaid programs are
headed by a woman, Dr. Carolyne Davis, and for the first
time in history, a woman, Martha A. McSteen, is heading
the Social Security Administration (acting). Betty Brake
is Deputy Director of ACTION; Betty Lou Dotson is
Director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights.
In the Department of HHS, 55% of all non-career Schedule
C appointees (GS 13 to 15) have been women.
Winifred Pizzano is Federal Co-Chairman and Jacqueline
Phillips, Alternate Federal Co-Chairman of the
Appalachian Regional Commission.
31
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why Doesn't President Reagan Support The Equal Rights
Amendment?
First, had the ERA been ratified, it would have sharply
expanded the courts' "legislative" powers, placing questions
about legitimate distinctions between men and women (such as
whether women should be protected from having to serve in
combat) before the courts instead of before elected
legislatures.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution already guarantees
each citizen the right to equal protection of the laws. The
Supreme Court has ruled that the 5th and 14th Amendments
prohibit state and federal actions that discriminate against
women.
Courts have struck down sex-based distinctions that are
unfair to women and have upheld distinctions only in very
limited cases, or when the distinctions legitimately benefit
women.
In addition, Congress has passed over 30 laws since the
1960s to ensure equal rights, in areas such as equal pay,
hiring, promotion, education, credit availability and tax
deductions. And, since ERA was introduced, the Supreme
Court has ruled in 37 cases affecting women's rights.
The point is that women have at their disposal powerful
existing legal weapons to safeguard and enforce equal rights
without ERA.
Finally, in fairness it should be remembered that ERA has
already been debated and passed by Congress. It was sent to
the states for ratification and the required two thirds of
the state legislatures failed to ratify it
even
though
the Carter Administration backed the ERA during the
ratification process. So why should President Reagan be
criticized for not backing the ERA when the ERA itself
failed to obtain the support necessary to become law?
32
Why Is President Reagan Against Abortion?
President Reagan believes abortion is the taking of a human
life. He believes the unborn child deserves the Consti-
tutional right to life, which is a fundamental part of our
heritage.
For those who argue that it is impossible to judge "when
life begins," the President has made the point that, even if
such a doubt existed, we should still opt on the side of
life.
Roe V. Wade, which legalized abortion, was of course neither
voted upon by the citizens of our nation nor enacted by
legislators. The Constitution never contemplated or
intended to establish the right to abortion.
The President is sympathetic to the concerns of women faced
with an unwanted pregnancy, but believes that alternatives
such as adoption are far preferable to abortion.
The President supports a Constitutional amendment banning
abortion as well as legislation which would put the issue
before the people.
33
What is the President Doing to Address the Problem of
Discrimination Against Women in the Workforce, Such as
Unequal Pay?
The President deplores any unfair distinctions based on bias
against women in the workforce -- be they related to equal
pay or anything else.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits sex discrimination in
the payment of wages for equal work in jobs that require
equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working
conditions.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces
the Equal Pay Act, has vigorously enforced equal employment
laws under President Reagan. In Fiscal Year 1982, the EEOC
recovered $100 million in back pay for victims of sex and
race discrimination -- 74% more than the EEOC recovered in
FY 1980.
The Justice Department has also made strong efforts through
litigation, to eliminate bias against women in the work-
force. Under this Administration, 21 employment cases have
been filed, 19 of which contained allegations of sex
discrimination. During a comparable period in the Carter
Administration, 17 cases were filed, 16 of which alleged sex
discrimination. Among the lawsuits filed have been actions
against police departments, fire departments and banks to
eliminate hiring and work practices that discriminate
against women. Such actions have been filed in Rhode
Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, New
York, Maryland, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and
Arkansas.
For example, Justice is litigating suits against a bank that
has a "men only" lunchroom, against a school board for
violations of the Pregnancy Disability Act, and against law
enforcement authorities for sex-discriminatory hiring
practices.
In addition, the Justice Department has settled or litigated
to a conclusion six sex discrimination cases filed during
the last administration. Last year, the Department achieved
the largest Title VII recovery against a public employer in
its history, winning $2.7 million in back pay on behalf of
685 women and blacks who were victims of discrimination.
In other actions, the Justice Department has filed a "friend
of the court" brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of a
female lawyer denied partnership in a law firm because of
her sex. In a lower court, it argued that physical agility
tests in the Buffalo, New York Fire Department were not job-
related, and had unfairly blocked the hiring of women
firefighters.
34
Is There A "Gender Gap?" If So, Why?
Public opinion surveys do show a "gap", but it should close
as awareness' of the Reagan record increases.
The President's record on issues that affect women has been
a solid one. He has turned around an ailing economy, giving
women better career opportunities and more buying power for
their families. He has stood up for legal equity for women,
and has backed a host of tax and other reforms that benefit
women in areas like child care, retirement savings, child
support enforcement and job training. He has made history
by appointing the first woman to the Supreme Court, three
women to his Cabinet, and over 1200 other women to top
government posts. His record stands up well against that of
his predecessor.
Many of the President's political opponents are trying to
use the Equal Rights Amendment as a measure of the
President's "support for women." Such critics have a vested
interest in keeping the "gender gap" idea alive -- to
further their own political fortunes.
The real problem is that the President's actual record is
too often ignored amid the rhetoric. When more women become
aware of that record, talk of a "gender gap" will disappear.
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Don't Many Of The Reagan Administration's Policies Impact
Unfairly On Poor Families -- Many Of Which Are Headed By
Women?
In 1979, as the American economy stagnated amid soaring
inflation, interest rates and declining output, poverty
rates started to rise for the first time in many years. It
has been the poor, who live on limited and fixed incomes and
usually without job skills, who suffered most from the sick
economy inherited by President Reagan.
The best thing any administration can do to help the poor is
to create a strong, growing economy. President Reagan has
begun to do that through his economic recovery program. A
growing economy means jobs and an end to the cycle of
welfare dependency for millions of poor Americans.
At the same time, the President has put into place reforms
in the way low-income programs are run -- not to cripple
them, but to better target our resources on the most needy.
Too many poor households headed by women are not receiving
the child support payments to which they are entitled.
President Reagan has proposed major new legislation to
improve child support enforcement by rewarding states that
crack down on delinquent fathers.
In addition, the Administration has assured in law that
there will be training opportunitites for low-income women
receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children, to help
them get permanent jobs, through the new Job Training
Partnership Act.
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Assistant Attorney General For Civil Rights Bradford
Reynolds Was Quoted As Saying Most Of The Changes In The
Third Quarterly Report Of The Justice Department Are
"Cosmetic." Are They?
The Justice Department is identifying all federal laws and
regulations it can find that show sex bias. Some of these
are relatively minor, and can be corrected by small changes
in wording of statutes or regulations. Mr. Reynolds simply
agreed, when asked by a reporter, that many of the changes
could be described in that way.
Of the 115 statutes named in the quarterly report, at least
76 contain distinctions that favor women, such as special
benefits to wives, widows and mothers.
The Attorney General's Third Quarterly Report on Women's
Equity was submitted to the Office of Cabinet Affairs in
July, 1983, and referred to the Cabinet Council on Legal
Policy and OMB for review. Their findings were that the
Federal code had already been substantially cleansed of any
significant sex bias. The Social Security Amendments of
1983 and the 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act addressed the
last of substantive sex discrimanatory language in the
Federal code.
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If The President Wants The Justice Department To Enforce
Legal Equity For Women, How Do You Explain Its Narrow
Interpretation Of Sex Discrimination In The Grove City
College case?
Title IX of the Education Amendment Acts of 1972 prohibits
discrimination in "any education program or activity
receiving federal financial assistance." The language,
legislative history and the Supreme Court legal precedent
indicate that Title IX was intended to be "program specific"
-- that is, targeted on a particular program in which
discrimination occurs, rather than encompassing the entire
school. Accordingly, the Justice Department argues that it
is the federally financed financial aid program at Grove
City which is involved, not the entire college.
The issue in this case is not whether the federal government
believes in equal educational opportunities for women --
President Reagan firmly supports equality in education. Nor
is the issue whether or not Grove City College discriminates
on the basis of sex -- that, in fact, has never been
alleged. The issue is whether a grant given directly to a
student by the federal government gives that government the
right to tell a university how to run every aspect of its
existence as a school
in other words, to what extent
should the university be regulated by the federal government
simply because its students receive Pell Grants?
The Justice Department has adopted the language of the
statute itself, and the holding of the Supreme Court in
North Haven Board of Education V. Bell last term, arguing
that the university is only regulated as regards the
specific program into which the federal money is being
funneled.
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President Reagan Continues To Be Criticized For His
Appointment Record On Women. What Are The Facts About His
Appointments?
The fact is that President Reagan's record is at least as
good as -- and in certain key areas better than -- his
predecessor.
Perhaps some of the confusion over comparing appointments
happened because observers often compare different types of
jobs and use differing time frames. Comparing numbers is
sometimes like comparing apples and oranges.
The facts are these, based on the most up-to-date figures:
The Reagan Administration has appointed more than 1200
women to important government positions as of mid-August
-- 891 of them full-time top level policy positions
(GS-13 and above). The highest of these are 126 direct
Presidential appointments. Compared to President Carter
during his first two years, President Reagan has a better
record of women appointments (Reagan 105, Carter 101). .
Fifty-seven percent of all Reagan political appointments
(Schedule C) have gone to women. Twice as many top
White House staff jobs are filled by women as under
President Carter (24 to 12).
Never before in history have three women served in a
President's Cabinet at the same time -- yet President
Reagan appointed three women to his Cabinet. And
President Reagan named the first woman ever to serve
on the U.S. Supreme Court.
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