Key to Voters' Guide

• Full Support of Reproductive Rights
• Non-Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation
• Preserving Educational and Nutritional Assistance for At-Risk Children
• Offering Equal Opportunities to Women and People of Color in Employment and Education
• Preserving the Social Safety Net
• Implementation and Funding of Programs to Combat Violence Against Women
• Gender Equity in Athletics

Full Support of Reproductive Rights

HOW THIS GUIDE WAS COMPILED:

Candidates' positions were obtained from interviews, questionnaires, public statements, Internet websites, campaign materials, and analyses of voting records of the 104th Congress from various sources. Candidates endorsed by NOW/PAC support reproductive freedom including Medicaid funding for abortions, minors' access to services, and family planning funding; civil rights for all, including lesbian and gay rights, an Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, affirmative action and equal opportunity programs; programs and funding to fight domestic violence; promoting economic equity for women, including legislation to move women out of poverty, preserving the social safety net and protecting children at risk.

CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORDS:

• Opposed the late term abortion ban (so-called partial birth abortion ban) which passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate to be vetoed by President Clinton, with the Senate sustaining the veto. The bill specified criminal penalties for doctors performing the dilation and extraction (D & X) abortion procedure and, in essence, was a frontal attack on Roe v. Wade, which allows late term abortions to be performed when necessary to protect the health or life of the woman.
• Opposed abortion restrictions offered as riders to various departmental appropriations measures for 1996 which deny Medicaid funds for abortion services to victims of rape or incest (if a state refuses to pay for this service), prohibit withholding of state or federal funds if medical schools do not provide abortion training, and forbid federal funding of human embryo research. Restrictive riders passed Senate and House as part of appropriations measures and were signed into law.
• Supported an amendment to defense appropriations for 1996 which attempted to restore approval of overseas abortions in military hospitals for service members and dependents, when using their own personal funds. The amendment failed in the House; defense appropriations bills ultimately passed the House and Senate and were signed into law.

Non-Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation

HOW THIS GUIDE WAS COMPILED:

Candidates' positions were obtained from interviews, questionnaires, public statements, Internet websites, campaign materials, and analyses of voting records of the 104th Congress from various sources. Candidates endorsed by NOW/PAC support reproductive freedom including Medicaid funding for abortions, minors' access to services, and family planning funding; civil rights for all, including lesbian and gay rights, an Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, affirmative action and equal opportunity programs; programs and funding to fight domestic violence; promoting economic equity for women, including legislation to move women out of poverty, preserving the social safety net and protecting children at risk.

CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORDS:

• Supported the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would have prohibited some, but not all employment discrimination against lesbians and gay men. This bill failed a Senate vote and did not get a floor vote in the House.
• Opposed the Defense of Marriage Act which passed both bodies by wide margins and was signed into law. The bill defines marriage as "the legal union between one man and one woman," while denying lesbian and gay couples the right legally to marry and be eligible for survivor and pension benefits, tax breaks, and other federal advantages for married couples. The new law also purports to authorize states to refuse to recognize licenses granted by other states, a provision which is in direct conflict with the U.S. Constitution.
• Supported a repeal of a mandatory discharge of HIV-positive military service members, which would have required the immediate discharge of all service members infected with the HIV virus. Passed the Senate and agreed to in conference committee; bill signed by the president.

Preserving Educational and Nutritional Assistance for At-Risk Children

HOW THIS GUIDE WAS COMPILED:

Candidates' positions were obtained from interviews, questionnaires, public statements, Internet websites, campaign materials, and analyses of voting records of the 104th Congress from various sources. Candidates endorsed by NOW/PAC support reproductive freedom including Medicaid funding for abortions, minors' access to services, and family planning funding; civil rights for all, including lesbian and gay rights, an Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, affirmative action and equal opportunity programs; programs and funding to fight domestic violence; promoting economic equity for women, including legislation to move women out of poverty, preserving the social safety net and protecting children at risk.

CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORDS:

• Opposed deep cuts in funding for 1996 that support various programs in the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education. This appropriations measure ultimately passed Senate and House (after several Continuing Resolutions which kept the government operating while the administration and Congress negotiated over the cuts) and was signed into law by the president.
• Opposed a House repeal of after-school and summer programs in high crime communities. Passed the House, Senate and signed into law.
• Opposed the so-called Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the recently passed welfare law, which creates new restrictions on children's access to school breakfast and lunch programs and will plunge an estimated 1.1 million additional children into poverty. Passed Senate and House and was signed into law by the president.

Offering Equal Opportunities to Women and People of Color in Employment and Education

HOW THIS GUIDE WAS COMPILED:

Candidates' positions were obtained from interviews, questionnaires, public statements, Internet websites, campaign materials, and analyses of voting records of the 104th Congress from various sources. Candidates endorsed by NOW/PAC support reproductive freedom including Medicaid funding for abortions, minors' access to services, and family planning funding; civil rights for all, including lesbian and gay rights, an Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, affirmative action and equal opportunity programs; programs and funding to fight domestic violence; promoting economic equity for women, including legislation to move women out of poverty, preserving the social safety net and protecting children at risk.

CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORDS:

• Opposed severe cuts to educational programs for 1996, including the Women's Educational Equity Act, professional development programs which emphasize sex equity training for teachers, vocational training funding, and many elementary and secondary school programs that combat sex discrimination in education. Passed Senate and House; signed by the president.
• Opposed an amendment in the Senate which would have ended all affirmative action programs in the legislative branch. Failed adoption.

Preserving the Social Safety Net

HOW THIS GUIDE WAS COMPILED:

Candidates' positions were obtained from interviews, questionnaires, public statements, Internet websites, campaign materials, and analyses of voting records of the 104th Congress from various sources. Candidates endorsed by NOW/PAC support reproductive freedom including Medicaid funding for abortions, minors' access to services, and family planning funding; civil rights for all, including lesbian and gay rights, an Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, affirmative action and equal opportunity programs; programs and funding to fight domestic violence; promoting economic equity for women, including legislation to move women out of poverty, preserving the social safety net and protecting children at risk.

CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORDS:

• Opposed the so-called Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 which repealed the 60 year old federal guarantee of cash assistance to families with dependent children (AFDC), replacing it with block grant funding to states for temporary assistance for poor families (TANF) up to 2 years, with a 5 year lifetime limit. Critics such as The Urban Institute say that the disappearance of the social safety net and reductions in funding for these programs will push 2.6 million persons deeper into poverty, including 1.1 million children.
• Under the new law, adults must find work or begin performing community service work (state option) and the law mandates a minimum of 30 work hours per week for parents which children over age 6. States will be rewarded with financial bonuses if they reduce caseloads and penalized for not meeting other requirements. The new law slashes funding by $60 billion over the next six years, including $27.7 billion for food stamps. States may adopt the Family Violence Amendment (but are not required to do so) which will provide assistance and certain exemptions for victims of domestic violence from new requirements under the law.
• The federal Medicaid program's basic structure and eligibility standards were not altered and some improvements were made to assure transitional coverage. However, other new restrictions will mean that up to 4 million poor, including 1.3 million children, may not have access to Medicaid. Additional child care services funding was approved, though still inadequate, and a contingency fund of $2 billion was established to cover increased needs in times of recession or population growth.
• Teen parents may be denied assistance unless attending school and being supervised by an adult; states are required to reduce the number of out-of-wedlock births or be penalized. Child support enforcement requirements are expanded and proof of paternity must be produced. States may choose to deny aid to families when additional children are born. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) standards were tightened, making many disabled children now ineligible and access to Medicaid coverage for some SSI recipients was limited. Legal immigrants are also ineligible to receive most federal benefits, including SSI and food stamps. Numerous other funding cuts and restrictions were adopted, along with a 20% (of the caseload) hardship exemption from the five year lifetime limitation for assistance.
• States are given full responsibility for planning and administering most assistance programs under the new law, and must submit new welfare plans to the federal government in order to receive block grant funding. Most new plans must be in place by July, 1997. Despite great controversy, the legislation passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by the president.

Implementation and Funding of Programs to Combat Violence Against Women

HOW THIS GUIDE WAS COMPILED:

Candidates' positions were obtained from interviews, questionnaires, public statements, Internet websites, campaign materials, and analyses of voting records of the 104th Congress from various sources. Candidates endorsed by NOW/PAC support reproductive freedom including Medicaid funding for abortions, minors' access to services, and family planning funding; civil rights for all, including lesbian and gay rights, an Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, affirmative action and equal opportunity programs; programs and funding to fight domestic violence; promoting economic equity for women, including legislation to move women out of poverty, preserving the social safety net and protecting children at risk.

CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORDS:

• Supported nearly full funding for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice, which are designed to combat domestic violence and sexual assault. Over $261 million was approved for numerous 1996 programs aimed at law enforcement, education, research, and services, including construction of battered women's shelters and operation of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Passed House and Senate and were signed by the president.

Gender Equity in Athletics

HOW THIS GUIDE WAS COMPILED:

Candidates' positions were obtained from interviews, questionnaires, public statements, Internet websites, campaign materials, and analyses of voting records of the 104th Congress from various sources. Candidates endorsed by NOW/PAC support reproductive freedom including Medicaid funding for abortions, minors' access to services, and family planning funding; civil rights for all, including lesbian and gay rights, an Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, affirmative action and equal opportunity programs; programs and funding to fight domestic violence; promoting economic equity for women, including legislation to move women out of poverty, preserving the social safety net and protecting children at risk.

CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORDS:

• Supported funding in education appropriations measures for various Title IX programs which are aimed at advancing gender equality in athletics. Passed both House and Senate and were signed into law.