Issue Position: Women, Children, & Familes

Issue Position

Issue Position: Women, Children, & Families

Women, Children, & Families

It is my priority as a public servant to fight for change that makes a real difference in the lives of New Jersey's families. Every day, I work to find ways to make our communities safer, provide tools to help parents with the challenges of caring for their families, and give all New Jersey children the chance to fulfill their God-given potential.

I know personally the struggles many families are facing, having just put two children through college (and now one in law school), while also helping my sister care for our mother who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Every family has its own story and its own challenges. Government certainly doesn't have all the answers, but there is a role for the federal government to provide a support structure to help families meet those challenges.

From offering support for mothers suffering from postpartum depression to creating a support structure for families affected by autism to protecting children from online predators to boosting programs that help find missing children, I have championed an array of legislation meant to improve the lives of our families.

We have made significant progress in closing the women's equality gap in this country -- whether through the women's suffrage movement, the Equal Rights Amendment fight, or the struggle for equal pay. Still, at the beginning of the 21st century, there are a number of challenges threatening women's rights, among them the threat to women's reproductive rights and inequality in the workforce. Women are also far too often the victims of violence. I am proud to have helped pass legislation that helps guarantee equal pay for equal work and to have authored provisions to include programs to address violence against women and families in the federal budget.

Highlights

* Postpartum depression -- Author of the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act to help provide support services to women suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis and to help educate mothers and their families about these conditions. In addition, the bill would support research into the causes, diagnoses and treatments for postpartum depression and psychosis.

* Internet safety -- Author of the School And Family Education about the Internet (SAFE Internet) Act to help prevent children and teens from falling vicitim to new online and wireless threats, such as "sexting" and "cyberbullying". The legislation would create a grant program to support existing and new Internet safety education programs that meet guidelines based on the cybersafety strategies found to be most effective.

* Locating missing persons -- Author of legislation to make a federal investment in an effective program that assists law enforcement efforts to locate missing persons quickly. The legislation would support the non-profit organization "A Child Is Missing", which generates 1,000 calls every 60 seconds to phone numbers in the immediate area where a missing person was last seen. This system can often be initiated quicker than Amber Alert, which requires a confirmation that the missing person has been abducted.

* Autism support structure -- Author of The Helping HANDS for Autism Act to support families dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This is a three-part legislative package that includes a program to guide families seeking services and care, increased awareness among first responders and housing for adults with ASD. At 1 in 94 children diagnosed with ASD, New Jersey has the highest rate in the nation.

* Equal pay for equal work -- Original co-sponsor of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps end pay discrimination and was enacted into law in 2009. The law makes it illegal to discriminate in wages based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability and strengthens the legal recourse available to those who are subject to such discrimination.

* Working to end texting while driving -- A lead co-sponsor of the ALERT Drivers Act, which would ban texting while operating a moving vehicle nationwide in a manner similar to the nationwide ban on drunk driving. The legislation would require states to bar the sending of text or email messages while operating a car, truck or mass transit vehicle, or else risk losing federal highway funds.

* Caregiver assistance -- Author of the Caregiver Assistance and Relief Effort (CARE) Act, which would help families afford the cost of caring for ailing family members or loved ones by making long-term care more affordable. The legislation would provide tax credits to those caregivers; encourage individuals to plan for and invest in their own long-term care by offering a tax deduction for long-term care insurance; and increase funding for the existing National Family Caregiver Support Program, which supports a wide range of important services for seniors.

* Women in the sciences -- Author of provisions enacted into law as part of the 2007 America COMPETES Act to increase the number of women and minorities in the science and technology fields and aid in revitalizing high school science labs in rural communities. Provision originally included in Menendez's Partnership for Access to Laboratory Science (PALS) Act.

* Schoolchildren affected by foreclosure -- As part of the 2009 economic recovery package, secured $70 million in federal funding for a program to help schoolchildren uprooted by foreclosures to remain in their schools and receive educational assistance. As a result of the nationwide foreclosure crisis, potentially millions of students, including 50,000 in New Jersey, could see their families lose their homes, finding themselves floating from school to school.

* Children's Health Insurance Program -- Led the 2008 and 2009 Senate efforts to protect and expand federal investment in New Jersey's FamilyCare children's health insurance program. New Jersey's strong program was targeted repeatedly by amendments aiming to reduce federal support for it, but Senator Menendez led the effort that overcame each of them. This program helps ensure that children from families that fall in the health coverage abyss between Medicaid and expensive private insurance have access to quality and affordable health care. In 2009, a strong children's health insurance reauthorization was enacted into law.

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