Lynn C. Woolsey: “this sham Republican bill fails to provide women with the real prescription drug coverage they need and they deserve.…”

“this sham Republican bill fails to provide women with the real prescription drug coverage they need and they deserve. Here we are, again, discussing ways to help seniors afford the prescription drugs that they need. And once again, the majority insists on a sham proposal that gives seniors nothing more than a false sense of security. My female colleagues and I would like to remind everyone that as we debate proposals to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, the decisions we make will overwhelmingly impact our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts. Women are living longer than ever, and longer than men--this is good news. However, the poverty that many women experience during their final years is certainly not good news. There are several reasons women's "golden years" are not so golden. While most women have worked their entire lives, a good portion of this work was not in the paid workforce. You don't earn a pension for time spent caring for children or elderly parents. When many of our mothers and grandmothers were in the workforce, they were denied equal pay for equal work. Some worked only part time, trying to balance the responsibilities of their jobs and their families. As a result, they've made less over their lifetimes--and now their monthly Social Security benefit is smaller.”