• On Nov. 14, Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) celebrated the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of two bills she co-authored, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2713) and the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act (H.R. 1209). Both bills passed unanimously and now go to the Senate for consideration.
“I am so pleased to see these important pieces of health care legislation pass the House today,” Capps said in a press release. “As a nurse for more than 30 years, I am keenly aware of the important roles nurses play in the health care delivery system and how critical it is that women have access to maternity care when they need it. And yet, far too many people lack access to care simply due to a shortage of health care providers. These bills harness the power of proven programs to help tackle these access issues and get nurses and maternity care providers to the areas that need
them most.”
Capps’ Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act would reauthorize federal nursing workforce programs that help to train and maintain the nation’s highly skilled nurses.
The Improving Access to Maternity Care bill would support improved data collection on maternity care shortages so that maternity care professionals in the National Health Service Corps are better allocated to communities in need.
• Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, and Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), vice-chair, released the following statement Nov. 15 on behalf of the Democratic members of the Women’s Caucus in response to President-elect Trump’s policies and recent statements on overturning abortion rights.
Jackson said, “California, the most populous state in the country and the sixth largest economy in the world, has long been a leader in the fight for women’s reproductive rights and access to health care. In the wake of last Tuesday’s election, we will not back down and we will not be silent. We will continue to be a strong voice for choice in this country. President-elect Trump’s statements and policies threaten to restrict our freedoms, cut off our health care, affect our economy and the pocketbooks of working families, and drag us back to an era of back-alley abortions. While our abortion rights will remain protected here in California due to the strength of our state laws and constitution, we will remain vigilant in speaking out against any Supreme Court nominee who will overturn our hard-fought American freedoms and impact the economic security of working families.”
Garcia said, “Latinas and other women of color already face barriers to sexual and reproductive health services, and as a result, women of color experience higher rates of reproductive cancers, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections than many other Americans. There is a very real threat of diminished federal funding for essential health care services such as cancer screenings, well-women visits, and birth control. In the wake of these threats, and given the president-elect’s promise to appoint an anti-choice judge to the Supreme Court, the safety and economic security of California’s women, and those around the country, are at grave risk. We will vigorously uphold our long-held commitment to ensuring all women retain control over their bodies, health care, and livelihoods.”
This article appears in Nov 24 – Dec 1, 2016.
