The best anti-poverty program we have ever had just turned 78, and many in Congress as well as the president want to cut its essential benefits. At a time when millions were near starvation during the depths of the Depression, the U.S. adopted the system of social insurance we know...

Emma Lazarus' famous words of 1883, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free .... I lift my lamp beside the golden door," came to symbolize a vision of a nation welcoming the destitute and persecuted. But it represented only one strain of...

"Like a horse and carriage" -- that's what the age-old song says about love and marriage. It is a traditional view that still is the core of marriage vows today, but the institution of marriage itself has changed throughout the years. As the Supreme Court considers the two cases it...

The sequester principle - that a sword of Damocles hanging over Congress and the White House would produce good public policy that reasoned debate could not - never made any sense. It hardly matters who thought of it at this point. The good news is that it is a man-made...

As the 113th Congress begins its work, the list of issues in dire need of thoughtful attention is a long one. One that has to be high on that list is addressing the dismal state of our democratic process. I'm talking about the hodge-podge of election laws and regulations across...

As discussions swirl around Washington on tax rates, entitlement "reform," and discretionary spending cuts, it seems all too easy to forget that real people will suffer if the wrong decisions are made in the next several weeks. If tax burdens remain grossly unfair, monthly income from Social Security is reduced,...

Tomorrow all eyes will be on women -- some say the deciding demographic of this year's election -- as we cast our ballots for president, members of Congress and major ballot initiatives in key states. And although we women have been casting ballots for more than ninety years now, we...

Just a few elections ago, I remember people wore button that said, "It's the Supreme Court, stupid." But during this fall election season, the future of the Supreme Court has received very little mainstream attention, even though decisions by that august body have an impact that can last far longer...

August 1 is a great day for women. It marks the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) package of preventive and diagnostic care that must now be included without co-pays or deductibles as a part of every policy provided to employees by their employer. But while we celebrate, a...

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about months dedicated to promoting a theme or a cause. Yes, it is good to highlight a priority concern, but what about the rest of the year? So it is with "Pride Month," which is now coming to end. An important takeaway...

In the Jewish calendar, time is tracked by the lunar cycle. The beginning of each month varies as the moon waxes and wanes and is celebrated as Rosh Chodesh -- literally the "head of the month" -- a holiday long associated with women. And, like many holidays tied...

It's hard to believe that 40 years ago doctors in America were prosecuted for providing women with birth control, and women risked jail for using it.

On June 7, Americans -- and American women in particular -- once again celebrate the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1965 decision in

Even though the parades and commemorations for Memorial Day are over, I can't help but think about an issue that impacts women in the Armed Services and that doesn't get much notice. Let's recall that Memorial Day began as a day to memorialize those soldiers who died in the Civil...

On Sunday, I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a grandmother, so the celebration of National Women's Health Week this week has new meaning for me. It means that thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA, the 2012 health reform law), my daughter, who gave birth via Caesarian section, cannot...

As Israel celebrates its 64th birthday, many pro-Israel women cannot help but wonder what its founders would say about the uproar over the increasing examples of gender segregation on buses and in certain public spaces. Unlike the U.S. Founding Fathers, Israel's visionary leaders never thought that there would be a...

Rush Limbaugh's vulgar insults directed at Sandra Fluke have been widely and rightly condemned. Her advocacy on behalf of including contraception in standard insurance coverage offered by employers, even those with a religious affiliation, has been defended by many, including President Obama. Limbaugh has lost backing, financial and...

Until this year, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was the poster child for bipartisanship. First passed in 1994 under the leadership of then-Senator Joe Biden, it garnered overwhelming support when it was reauthorized in 2000 and again in 2005. Now, however, it too...

The announced theme of the fifty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women taking place in New York from February 27 to March 3 -- the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development, and current challenges -- isn't focused per...

"How can the 'consent of the governed' be given if the right to vote be denied?" asked Susan B. Anthony, whose birthday we celebrate today. Yet, years after her hard-won gains for women's voting rights, there are a plethora of efforts now underway across the country to make voting harder...

There's a chant that is familiar to anyone who has ever attended a reproductive rights rally -- "Not the church, not the state; Women should decide their fate!" Usually this rallying cry is in defense of a woman's right to choose abortion. Today this chant takes on new relevance when...