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Marty Meehan's Record on Women's Issues

Click here for Meehan Op-Ed on Title IX

Congressman Marty Meehan has worked aggressively to promote the causes that matter most to American women. Whether the problem is access to health care, job security, pay equity or choice, Marty has been at the forefront of efforts on Capitol Hill to advance real solutions.

In 1998, Marty hosted a forum on women's issues in his hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. The forum was attended by First Lady Hillary Clinton and five women members of Congress: Representatives Nancy Pelosi from California, Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut, Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas, Eleanor Holmes Norton from the District of Columbia, and Karen Thurman from Florida. Over 1,000 people . women, men, students and children . came to Lowell to listen to these national leaders discuss the problems that working women face and possible solutions to them.

Marty's work on women's issues began long before he came to Washington. As First Assistant District Attorney for Massachusetts's Middlesex County, Marty saw first-hand how single parents, typically mothers, can be unfairly burdened with the full cost of raising their children. Marty accordingly focused on tracking down fathers who had escaped paying child support by moving to a new state or misrepresenting their income. Marty also developed priority prosecution policies designed to put the most violent criminals, including individuals who had battered or threatened their wives or female partners, behind bars.

Marty continued his work on women's issues when he came to Congress in 1993. Working closely with the Clinton Administration, Marty was a strong proponent of the Violence Against Women Act, the Free Access to Clinic Entrances Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the ban on assault weapons, comprehensive health care reform, and prenatal and child nutrition programs. In 1993, Marty invited leading wome's advocate Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder to Marlborough, Massachusetts to discuss women's health care and other issues with his constituents.

Marty has also used his positions on the House Armed Services and Judiciary Committees to focus on a number of priorities for women. On the Armed Services Committee, Marty has led efforts to treat women serving in the Armed Forces fairly, especially with regard to equity, opportunity, and health care. Rising through the ranks of the committee, Marty recently used his senior position on the Personnel Subcommittee to promote gender-integrated training. Likewise, Marty has used his membership on the House Judiciary Committee as a platform for speaking out against numerous attempts by the Republican majority to roll back a woman's right to a safe and legal abortion. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, Marty played an active role in the successful effort in 2000 to enact "VAWA II", a bill which extended and enhanced the Violence Against Women Act.

Marty himself introduced legislation in the 106th Congress (H.R. 2774) to require federal employee health plans that offer obstetrical benefits also to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility. In honor of his work on infertility issues, the national infertility association RESOLVE presented Marty with its Infertility Awareness Leadership Award in September of 2000.