Elizabeth Furse: “life history is important. The history of a Member of Congress can give insight into a problem in our society. This is…”

“life history is important. The history of a Member of Congress can give insight into a problem in our society. This is just such an occasion. I think I can safely say that my work history has been very similar to that of the majority of American women. I was a mother. I was a homemaker. I worked in my community for community change. I was a volunteer. I worked in a nonprofit. When I was divorced, my lawyer did not do what he should have done, which was make sure that the pension of my spouse was something that I would have been provided. I continued to work in nonprofits and community organizations. It was not until I came to Congress that I ever got a job where there was a pension attached, and even that I cannot vest in. Well, Mr. Speaker, that is the situation for a majority of women, elderly women like myself in this country. I am honored to be able to do something to fix this situation. Mr. Speaker, together with my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York, Mrs. Nita Lowey, I have introduced the Women's Pension Equity Act. Some 60 percent of seniors are women, but they make up 75 percent of the elderly poor. Women are far more likely than men to live out their older lives in poverty, making those older years anything but golden. In my own State, I am sad to say that only 37 percent of the women in Oregon participate in a pension plan. We need to make steps to fix this, take steps, that is what the Women's Pension Equity Act does.…”