Women’s Issues

As the father of two young girls, Representative Derek Kilmer will always fight for the rights of women, and everyone, to be treated equally under the law.

• One of the first pieces of legislation Representative Kilmer cosponsored was the Paycheck Fairness Act, because today women are earning just 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, regardless of the level of education or occupation. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen the 1963 Equal Pay Act by putting gender-based wage discrimination on equal footing with discrimination based on race or ethnicity.
   
• Representative Kilmer strongly pushed House leadership to pass comprehensive legislation reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. This critical piece of bipartisan legislation significantly strengthens the ability of law enforcement and service providers to combat domestic violence.  No woman should ever be forced to feel unsafe or insecure in her own home and no woman should ever suffer in silence in the face of domestic violence. With Representative Kilmer’s support, this bill was passed into law in March 2013.
   
• Representative Derek Kilmer supports access to family planning coverage. Representative Kilmer believes bosses should not have the right to deny their employees coverage for basic health care, including family planning services. That’s why Representative Kilmer is a cosponsor of the Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act, a bill that would prohibit for-profit employers that provide employees insurance from denying employees contraception or any other basic health service required by federal law.
   
• Representative Kilmer strongly believes decisions about women’s health care are best made by women in consultation with their doctors and has opposed legislation that would infringe on women’s rights. In addition, Representative Kilmer has supported a number of bills that would protect women’s rights and has cosponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would ensure women don’t face burdensome restrictions when trying to access family planning and reproductive health care services. 
   
• Protection of the rights of women goes beyond our borders. Representative Kilmer has supported measures that protect women’s rights around the globe through supporting international family planning efforts and promoting freedoms of women prohibited in many regions around the globe.

Women have been attached to combat units during the last 12 years of war and have served honorably in the face of fire.  Representative Kilmer commended Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s decision to allow women to assume combat roles. Our women servicemembers can do great things and want to serve their country in all facets of the military.  We should not limit them. It is essential to national security that our military has the best-qualified force, regardless of gender.