On the recordMarch 6, 2019
I am a single mom. When I ran for Congress last year, I spent thousands and thousands of dollars on childcare. Running for Federal office requires 60- to 90-hour workweeks. I worked every single day, every single weekend, and I also worked challenging hours, most days starting at 6:45 in the morning and ending with campaign events stretching well into the night. I juggled dozens of childcare providers for nearly two years, without whom I would never have made it to Congress. I have three children: Betsy, who is 7; Paul, who is 10; and Luke, who is 13. Leaving them alone was not an option and bringing them on the campaign trail was often impossible, inappropriate, and could have even been dangerous. For the past two centuries, Congress has written many, many laws about what women may and may not do, but until this year, women's representation in Congress was less than 20 percent. Even with the election of my historic class, we are only 102 women. There are even fewer moms in Congress and even fewer single moms, as in, nobody but me. I have introduced language today as a standalone bill I will introduce. ____________________
