Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 12, 1994 TAG: 9408030015
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Once, both the event and the issue might have drawn little notice. But these influential Congress members were joined by House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. Immediately afterward, House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash., pledged his support.
Since the 1992 elections swelled women's ranks to 48 in the House and seven in the Senate, female lawmakers increasingly get the male majority's attention.
Some of the changes in Congress are cosmetic: a women's restroom has been installed near the Senate chamber, and female Senate doorkeepers now can wear slacks to work.
Some stereotypes die hard. One luckless lobbyist failed to recognize Rep. Karen English, D-Ariz., as he argued his case to the two men on either side of her.
As the lobbyist said his goodbyes, English informed him, ``I'm a member, too.'' She recalled that ``he walked quickly to catch up. I walked quicker.''
Other changes, however, are putting women in the pipeline to power.
In the House, women hold seats on virtually every influential committee. Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., is poised to become the first female committee chair in several decades by overseeing the Post Office and Civil Service Committee next year.
On the Senate side, two women have joined the Judiciary Committee, which was criticized in 1992 for its handling of Anita Hill's sexual harassment complaints during Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing.
In both chambers, the women have used new-found clout to push through an array of legislation geared to helping other women.
More money for breast cancer research and child immunizations, an expanded tax credit for working families, and protected access to abortion clinics are just a few of the initiatives passed with the support of a bipartisan majority of the women.
The Violence Against Women Act, propelled by publicity in the O.J. Simpson case, is rocketing toward final passage. The first hearing on the Child Support Responsibility Act, which has lingered in Congress for 10 years, is scheduled for today; the recent endorsements by Gingrich and Foley drastically improve its chances of passage.
The women believe their increased numbers allow them to work in new directions. Female House members lead both sides of the battle over funding for C-17 military planes, for instance.
``We are coming fully into our own,'' said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
by CNB