August 23, 2004

Columbus – Ohio Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-15) today issued the following statement regarding Teresa Heinz Kerry’s speech to women AFL-CIO leaders in Columbus, Ohio:

“Women are not a puppet constituency.  Pulling strings by making empty promises will not work,” said Pryce.  “They know that talk is cheap. 

“Teresa Kerry talks about how Democrats would do a better job representing women, but the truth is that Democrats continue to block the very policies that would benefit women the most.

“John Kerry claims that he wants to help working mothers provide for their families, yet he plans to raise taxes on these working women.  The Democrat party says that it wants to control the rising cost of prescription drugs, yet its own nominee has called for repeal of a new Medicare plan that will soon provide over half of all senior women with virtually free medication.  And while Kerry pledges to increase the quality of health care, he has a record of voting with his trial lawyer friends to put baby doctors and other caretakers out of business.

“Sisters, daughters, and mothers across America see that President Bush has made progress in helping women support their families, pay for medicines and prevent local doctors from falling victim to the medical justice crisis.  Faced with this successful record, it’s no wonder that Democrats prefer to talk rather than act.