Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 8, 1993 TAG: 9309080073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Rep. James Quillen, a 30-year veteran of Congress, smiled down at the Hill newcomer, who wore a red suit.
"I don't agree with you on this," drawled the Tennessee Republican, "but you certainly brighten the place up."
Such comments explain why many of the women sent crashing into the nation's premier ol' boys club last November wonder if Capitol Hill isn't operating in a bit of a time warp.
Women more than doubled their numbers in the House last November, and now hold 47 of the 435 seats. Five new women have joined the ranks of the Senate, adding to the two who were there before.
But it's been tough going, at times, for these new women, who report an occasional, subtle double standard on Capitol Hill, an institution steeped in tradition and long dominated by men.
"There are men who will figuratively pat you on the head and tell you, `It'll be all right, little lady,' " said Byrne, D-Va.
"Out in the real world, we took care of a lot of these basic issues between men and women years ago," added Rep. Lynn Schenk, D-Calif. "But this place has been so insulated, the shock waves of the '70s and '80s haven't quite made it through the walls."
Most of the women members have stories about being called "honey" or "little lady."
They write that off as mostly a "generation gap," innocent talk from men who grew up in a different time. But some women also wonder if there aren't some underlying, paternalistic attitudes at play in the way they are treated in committee and on the floor.
The most glaring case, in their eyes, happened during the floor battle on the Hyde amendment, which bans Medicaid abortions for poor women.
Women who were handling the fight lost a humiliating battle, and attributed it in part to the unwillingness of male colleagues who run the place to help out. Some contend that if it had been a man's fight, other men would have jumped in to assist.
During that contentious debate, Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., told freshman Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., to "shut up" when she questioned his effort to help the abortion rights cause.
Would Obey have told a male colleague to shut up? the women asked themselves.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., voted against President Clinton's budget bill the first time it came before the House, opposing it as a tax-heavy package that didn't cut enough spending. She took unrelenting flak.
"It was, `Shut up, little girl. Follow the pack,' " Maloney said. "But when it got to the Senate and the guys over there stood up, they were treated like heroes."
The attitudes tend to seep through the rest of the Capitol Hill compound, the women say. For instance, many of the new congressional women still get stopped by police and doormen, while male colleagues breeze right past security stops. The presumption, women say, is that females aren't members of Congress.
by CNB