[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1589 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1589

 Commending the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor on its 
                           90th anniversary.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2010

   Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Ms. Pingree of Maine, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. 
Hinchey, Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Conyers, Mrs. Capps, Ms. 
Norton, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Matsui, 
 Mr. George Miller of California, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Ryan of 
 Ohio, and Ms. Woolsey) submitted the following resolution; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Commending the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor on its 
                           90th anniversary.

Whereas the Women's Bureau was established by Congress in 1920 within the U.S. 
        Department of Labor, two months before women gained the right to vote;
Whereas the Women's Bureau was charged to ``formulate standards and policies 
        which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their 
        working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their 
        opportunities for profitable employment'';
Whereas the Women's Bureau is the only Federal agency mandated to represent the 
        needs of wage-earning women in the public policy process;
Whereas the Women's Bureau has tackled the challenges to women's economic 
        advancement for 90 years and has pioneered innovative research and 
        programs to address them within an ever changing Nation;
Whereas the Women's Bureau has been a longtime champion of working women;
Whereas in the 1930s, the agency led a ground-breaking investigation and report 
        on the condition of Black women in the workplace and in 1938, helped 
        ensure the inclusion of woman under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which 
        set minimum wages and maximum working hours;
Whereas the Women's Bureau played an integral role in the historic passage of 
        the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which stated that women and men must receive 
        equal pay for equal work and continues to support executive and 
        legislative efforts to strengthen the Equal Pay Act, such as the passage 
        into law of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the bill which would 
        strengthen the Equal Pay Act, The Paycheck Fairness Act;
Whereas the Women's Bureau has supported the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 
        conducted research on issues facing part-time and temporary workers, 
        shed light on domestic violence in the workplace, and was one of the 
        architects of creating child care centers in the workplace;
Whereas the Women's Bureau has supported the Family and Medical Leave Act and 
        workplace flexibility policies to help employees balance their work and 
        family responsibilities;
Whereas since 1994, the Women's Bureau and the Employment and Training 
        Administration's Office of Apprenticeship has awarded over $12,000,000 
        to over 90 grantees throughout the United States to promote the 
        recruitment, training, employment, and retention of women in 
        apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations, such as construction and 
        manufacturing;
Whereas in 1994, the Women's Bureau launched Working Women Count, a survey of 
        women across the United States in order to identify the issues women 
        faced in the modern workplace;
Whereas in only 4 months, over 250,000 women responded with the unique 
        challenges they faced;
Whereas the results of this survey were used to guide the Women's Bureau's 
        agenda and focus their efforts on a variety of issues from pay equity to 
        work-life balance;
Whereas the Bureau through its national office and 10 regional offices across 
        the United States, strives to empower all working women to achieve 
        economic security by preparing them for high paying jobs, ensuring fair 
        compensation, promoting work place flexibility, and helping homeless 
        women veterans reintegrate into the workforce; and
Whereas the Women's Bureau has established the highest standards of professional 
        competence and commitment in order to empower all working women to 
        achieve economic security: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives commends the Women's 
Bureau on the occasion of its 90th anniversary for its exemplary 
service on behalf of working women in the United States.
                                 <all>