Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
02/14/2012

Contact:
Katie Broendel, broendelk@aauw.org
202/785-7761

Lisa Goodnight, goodnightl@aauw.org
202/785-7738

AAUW Action Fund Releases Congressional Voting Record for 112th Congress
Partisan Gridlock Stalls Progress on Critical Women's Issues

WASHINGTON — The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Action Fund released today a scorecard of congressional action on issues that will be critical to women and their families when they cast their votes in the upcoming elections.

The Congressional Voting Record, available at www.aauwaction.org, covers the first session of the 112th Congress, outlines how U.S. senators and representatives voted and whether they co-sponsored legislation on priority issues affecting education, economic security, and civil rights.

As in the previous Congress, the story of the 112th Congress has been dominated by the economic recession. The similarity, however, stops there. While the 111th Congress made considerable progress on many of AAUW's priority issues, the current Congress has been caught in a vitriolic ideological divide. As a result, it has made little to no progress on women's issues. Instead of working to improve economic security, Congress has put eligibility for college affordability programs on the chopping block. Rather than helping women find jobs, Congress spent precious time and effort on damaging austerity measures. And while it could have been working to ensure women are paid fairly for their work, the House of Representatives instead attacked reproductive health programs.

"This voting record shows that Congress is gridlocked on the issues that can make a difference for women and their families," said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE. "This excessive partisanship isn't just disappointing, it's discouraging to a nation that expected the new Congress to make economic recovery priority number one."

There is a silver lining for some women's issues: The 112th Congress has made progress on campus safety and domestic violence. Thanks in part to AAUW's support, many senators and representatives became co-sponsors of legislation to protect students on college campuses, and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act was introduced.

"This voting record underscores the lack of action on women's issues and will be a powerful tool outside the Beltway," said Lisa Maatz, AAUW director of public policy and government relations. "The AAUW Action Fund's nationwide voter education program, It's My Vote: I Will Be Heard, will be working to turn out the women's vote to ensure that elected officials are held accountable for their votes."

The AAUW Action Fund Capitol Hill Lobby Corps, a group of AAUW members who lobby Congress every week it is in session, will make a special effort to thank members of Congress who have a 100 percent voting record.

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The AAUW Action Fund advances equity for women and girls through member activism and voter mobilization. Since 1881, AAUW has been the nation’s leading voice promoting education and equity for women and girls. Both organizations have a nationwide network of 100,000 members and donors, 1,000 branches, and 600 college and university partners.