PathWays PA Policy Blog

Our action items often focus on calling or contacting your legislators, but that's not the only way your voice can be heard. Another way to share your opinion and make a difference is through public comment. Public comment periods give people the chance to articulate their opinions on proposed rules or laws and to offer advice on how they could be changed. You may speak up at a local town council meeting to discuss a proposed park in your neighborhood, or you might submit an electronic comment to show how a proposed rule would affect your life. Taking part in a public comment period is an effective way to ensure legislation is implemented in a way that helps everyone affected. Your thoughts go directly to people making the rules, and those thoughts shape the final version of the law. We have three ways to take action through public comment this week - on Overtime , Census 2020 , Title X . Take a look and see what is interesting to you! Overtime The Pennsylvania Department ...

From our friends at NARAL Pro-choice advocates in Congress have introduced the "Not My Boss' Business" Act. If passed, this bill would ban bosses from picking and choosing which guaranteed benefits their employees receive. Your support is needed to help move this important bill forward. Call your Senators and ask them to Support the "Not My Boss' Business" Act today.  A vote is expected this week!

From our friends at the National Women's Law Center  On Thursday, March 6, beginning at 2:ooPM, NWLC, ACLU, Planned Parenthood and NARAL will host a phone conference to provide information on the upcoming Supreme Court case. Beginning on March 25th, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the cases brought by 2 for-profit corporations who want to deny their employees insurance coverage of contraception. Contraception is critical to women's health and equality. This benefit is currently enjoyed by 27 million women and these employers want to take it away from the women who work for them. If you are interested in learning more, join the National Women's Law Center, ACLU, Planned Parenthood and NARAL for a conference call that will update you about the cases and inform you about the public education and media events in support of the contraceptive coverage benefit over the next few months and on the day of the court hearing. RSVP is required: Please email Yumhee Park...

Recently, Philadelphia became the third U.S. city to pass a resolution calling for federal and state funding of reproductive healthcare services, including abortion. The Women's Medical Fund offers direct assistance to women seeking reproductive health services, but resources don't always meet the growing need of assistance. The average women seeking assistance for reproductive health services makes $618 per month. Read the entire resolution here

This month, two bills were introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly - Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 742 - that would ban private insurance plans sold in the health insurance exchange, which will begin in 2014, from covering even medically necessary abortion services. These exceptions to receive abortion coverage are very narrow and there is no exception made for catastrophic health situations such as a cancer diagnosis. Protect Pennsylvania women's access to comprehensive, safe, affordable reproductive healthcare. Please contact your legislator(s) and urge them to vote NO to SB 3 and HB 742!

August 1 is an important milestone for health care reform law, and more importantly, for women. Why? Because starting August 1, 2012, the Affordable Care Act is making it easier to be a woman.  On August 1, all new insurance plans will have to start covering important preventative health care services for women without co-pays, such as… Contraception  Screening and counseling for domestic violence  Annual well-woman visits  Breastfeeding supports, such as counseling and equipment (including rental of breast pumps) Screening for gestational diabetes  HPV testing  STI counseling  HIV screening and counseling  Expensive co-pays have been a major barrier for women in accessing the care we need. In fact, more than half of women have delayed or avoided preventative care because of its cost. So many women are not aware of the benefits provided by the preventative health care provision of the Affordable Care Act that will begin to tak...

Federal Policy Updates SENATE FARM BILL: URGE YOUR SENATORS TO RESTORE SNAP CUTS This week, the Senate is expected to begin consideration of the Farm Bill ( S. 3240 ). The proposal includes a $4.5 billion cut to SNAP over 10 years by reducing the ability of states to take part in the “ Heat and Eat ” program. The cut would mean that an estimated 500,000 households a year would lose $90 per month in SNAP benefits. But there is hope. There is an amendment circulating in the Senate that would restore, over 10 years, the $4.5 billion cut to SNAP and invests $500 million in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack program. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has a "Dear Colleague Letter" in the Senate asking for cosponsors for this amendment. If you support this amendment, please contact your Senators (202-224-3121 Senate Switchboard) and urge them to demonstrate their support for SNAP by co-sponsoring the Gillibrand SNAP amendment. Offices should contact Kathryn Tanner in Sen. G...

Federal Policy Updates THE VOTE ON THE PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT IS SET This Tuesday at 2:15 pm the U.S. Senate will finally vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act! The Paycheck Fairness Act would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their own wages to co-workers. Without this bill, employers can penalize and even fire employees for talking about their salaries. This egregious practice leaves workers in the dark, preventing them from ever finding out about pay discrimination in the workplace. If you support this act your Senator needs to hear from you before the vote on Tuesday. Please take 2 minutes to call your U.S. Senator now and urge a YES on the Paycheck Fairness Act. It's easy. Just dial 1-888-678-9475, and say: “I'm from ______ state, and I'm calling to urge my Senator to vote YES for the Paycheck Fairness Act." The Paycheck Fairness Act is very close to passing can and wil...

Crossposted as part of the MomsRising Blog Carnival . In 2010, dear friends of mine gave birth to a baby girl. I saw the first pictures of her, not even an hour old, while I was writing a blog post about another important event, the first anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Act. She looked so serious in some of those pictures, as if she was determined to figure out this strange new world and her place in it. For years, I had been working on issues that affected women and girls, and thinking about them abstractly. That morning, for the first time, I considered how those issues would affect one child in particular, and I wondered what I could do to make sure she grew up in the best world possible. On that morning, my task didn’t seem too hard. Yes, we were in a recession, but it would be over soon, and meanwhile, everything seemed possible to ensure equality for women and families. Equal pay, access to nontraditional jobs, the ability to find healthcare – all of these issues we...

State OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON VOTING RIGHTS TODAY The Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations is planning to vote on MONDAY 3/5 on HB 934 which would deprive voters of the right to cast a ballot if they do not show a valid state-issued photo ID card, with limited exceptions. This will particularly affect non-drivers (senior citizens who no longer drive, persons with disabilities, and residents of urban communities who travel by public transit), and the challenge of securing a non-driver photo ID card from PennDOT will be costly, difficult, and, for some, impossible. Supporters of the bill have been unable to show any evidence of voter identity fraud in Pennsylvania because safeguards against fraudulent voting are already in place in our state. The legislation may cost Pennsylvania taxpayers millions to implement. Long lines at polling places are likely to form, leading other voters to simply give up and go home. More information on the legislation can be found at http://vote...

Federal Policy Updates PRESIDENT’S BUDGET PLAN EMPHASIZES INVESTMENTS IN CHILDREN  President Barack Obama recently unveiled a 2013 federal budget that bolsters investments in children, with an emphasis on early childhood and K-12 education. Overall, the president’s budget invests an additional $1.4 billion in programs that benefit children, a modest increase of less than 2 percent over the current year’s budget. His budget plan calls for: $6 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, an $825 million increase (in discretionary and mandatory spending) that will serve an additional 70,000 kids and build on the progress of the Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge. $8 billion for Head Start, an $85 million increase. $12.4 billion – a $20 million increase – for special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Level funding of $14.5 billion for Title I grants to aid economically disadvantaged students. $850 million for Race ...

Under health care reform, women are to have access to contraception without paying a co-pay. Last week, President Obama defended women’s health by not backing down from this guarantee. To seek a compromise with religious groups opposed to contraception, the President announced that women who work for religiously affiliated employers will access contraception directly from the insurance company rather than their employer. Members of Congress are still trying to pass legislation to repeal the contraception coverage requirement. The Senate could be considering legislation as early as today! Call your U.S. Senators and share your feelings on preventative health care for women and legislation that would take away women's access to birth control without a co-pay. Please make these important calls today - you can reach Senator Casey's Office at 202.224.6324 and Senator Toomey's Office at 202.224.4254.

Friday, January 20th the We’ve Had Enough Campaign will be commemorating the 39th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made it legal for a woman to choose an abortion. Yet, despite the fact that abortion is a legal and safe medical procedure, and has been for the better part of four decades, there still exists those people who seek to undermine that legal right. This is why we need to stand up and say “We’ve Had Enough.” If you cannot come out to one of the events going on through out Pennsylvania join them on Twitter from noon to 1:00 for an Online Rally . People will be live tweeting from the events and we want to hear from you why you have had enough and what the decision in Roe means to you. All you need to do is follow @wevehadenoughpa and #roevwade and then tweet from your own account what your thoughts are on the Anniversary of Roe and the attacks against women’s health. Please use #roevwade in your tweets so we can be sure to see what you ar...

Special PathWays PA Updates TAX SEASON IS AROUND THE CORNER – SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW If you made less than $50,000 in 2011, you are likely eligible for PathWays PA’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. VITA helps return thousands of dollars into the community every year and provides free income tax preparation services to those that need it most. To schedule your appointment, call PathWays PA at 610-543-5022! PATHWAYS PA IS LOOKING FOR GENTLY USED PROFESSIONAL CLOTHING! PathWays PA has recently launched our Dress For Your Dreams – MLK Day 2012 campaign! We’re looking for gently used professional and semi-professional clothing. With this, we’ll enable our clients to have the right clothing for job interviews and starting work at new places of employment. If you’d like to donate, contact Chelsea Kohler at ckohler@pathwayspa.org .  For more information, visit the Dress for Your Dreams site . Federal Policy Updates HELP RAISE THE TIPPED MINIMUM WA...

YOU ARE INVITED TO A PAID SICK DAYS HAPPY HOUR! WHEN: Tuesday, January 10, 5PM-7PM WHERE: El Fuego,  723 Walnut Street ,  Philadelphia The  Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces   is hosting a Happy Hour at El Fuego, a restaurant which provides paid sick days to its employees, to celebrate the progress made on paid sick days and to provide the opportunity to learn more about this important issue. Light food will be provided. Over 40% of  Philadelphia  workers have no access to a single paid sick day, and many of those workers handle food or work with vulnerable populations. To RSVP please email kscully@pathwayspa.org or  click here .