NWLC Responds to 2021 House Spending Bill

(Washington, D.C.) Today, the U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers will markup the fiscal 2021 appropriations bill. The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) responds below to various elements of the bill, including inclusion of the Hyde Amendment in its health care spending, child care, and education.

The following is a statement by Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of NWLC:

“The Hyde Amendment is discriminatory by design. It has denied abortion coverage to individuals enrolled in Medicaid for over 40 years, and disproportionately impacts the Black, Indigenous, and brown communities harshly impacted by COVID-19, the economic crisis, and our long history of white supremacy. We are deeply disappointed that the first Pro-Choice Majority in the House did not eliminate the harmful Hyde Amendment from the country’s annual spending bills. At a time of national reckoning on racial injustice, this is the moment to reject the harmful policy that targets people of color struggling to make ends meet. We will not stop fighting and advocating alongside our champions until the amendment is permanently eliminated.”

The following is a statement by Melissa Boteach, Vice President for Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning at NWLC:

“COVID-19 has laid bare and exacerbated existing gaps and inequities in our child care system. A modest increase in annual appropriations as part of the regular order is a small step forward but it’s a drop in the ocean when set against the backdrop of the challenge before us. There is no recovery without child care. To meet this moment, Congress must include at least $50 billion to stabilize and rebuild child care in the next COVID-19 relief package.”

The following is a statement by Emily Martin, Vice President for Education and Workplace Justice at NWLC:

“Under this bill, the Department of Education would be blocked from implementing its dangerous new Title IX sexual harassment rule. The Department’s illegal rule chills complaints of sexual harassment and would unfairly burden survivors at every stage of a school’s investigation process. It’s an unprecedented departure from nearly 20 years of Title IX policy, and is currently being challenged in four separate lawsuits, including by the National Women’s Law Center. This rule has been widely opposed by students, schools, civil rights and survivor advocates, mental health professionals, and government officials strongly support this effort to stop it in its tracks.”

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