Yes Hello I'm so glad to be here today um my name is congresswoman brenda lawrence representing michigan's fourteenth district I'm proud to stand here as a member of leadership and the Democratic women's working group and as a Democratic representative for the congressional caucus for women's issue today we stand together wearing White in solidarity with the women of the suffrage movement who refused to take no for an answer women has the Made demands and fight for right for the voice and they have the right to vote the women's movement was full of fighters who refuse to be treated as second class citizens but still today 100 years after women receive the right to vote to vote the battle continues 20 19 we celebrated his start number of women in Congress but still we're only 25 percent of the decision makers who sit under the Adorn by lady freedom when a woman when women today represent 50 percent of this country throughout history women have been resilient but we will not stop fighting we have no plans to stop now we will fight against the forces that continue to hold women that this White House administration has tried to close his doors on women but we will not be locked out to in a minute That has closed his eyes to women we will be seen to an administration that refused to listen to us we will be heard we will continue to fight for equal pay for equal work access to quality health care we will fight against sexual harassment and sexual violence and we will continue to fight to raise women and their families out of poverty we stand together to make a message that's very clear we're ready it's a fight we At a time when women need more protections opportunities and we have a read of administration that is reckless and rolling back the progress we've made And I want to be on the record joined by the Democratic women of this Congress that we are here to let every woman in America know we've got your back and that we are not backing down and we will continue to fight for every woman in America I will now like to introduce a person who has led the women's caucus the Democratic women's caucus of fighter in a role model and example for women who understand that we do not need to bow asked permission to lead I want to introduce the brilliant lowest frankl for so that was pretty cool okay hello everybody this is a little housekeeping just to let you know that uh all our women's caucus will be taking a Mass photo and honestly a stairs right after this I'm gonna do I'm going to thank you for organizing today and uh my colleagues for being here so Democrats obviously won the majority in the House because women across the country stood up For our rights marching organizing and voting they were anxious not just about the President uh young women his childcare costs more than their rent grandmothers are having to cut their pills in half because I can't afford prescription drugs mothers and daughters who can't take needs to take care of loved ones because they are afraid of losing your job and all women who now worried about access to full reproductive care and women make up 40 percent of Red word winners today with households a family are depending on women earnings yet the research shows that women are still earning eighty cents on the dollar and it's even worse for women and color it's sort of shock e let me give you some examples male civic civil engineers to make an average of almost 78000 dollars a year why women are roughly 64000 women nurses 58000 annually why men breaking 64000 for the same job low income workers uh like retail workers for example men earned roughly 38000 dollars and the women counterparts just 27000 and what does this do this lose women in rough shape for their retirement over a 47 year career as estimated by the Association of University women um women can lose up to 700000 to two million dollars in earnings Uh this is weird we are literally cheating women out of retiring in dignity so tonight when President trump looks gives us a to Union when he looks at the Democratic side of the House he will see wave a separate White as Democrats promote and crucial piece of our for the people and gender tackling issues that keep women from reaching their full Potential like raising the minimum wage paycheck failures access to affordable quality child care promoting family friendly workplaces and of course access to health care uh with the new majority are Democratic working women's group we're going to bring all this to the forefront because women and their families have waited and waited too long for the economic security that they deserve and now I wanna bring on the godmother The godmother of pay equity and really has been a leader in all of these women's issues was it real or a Connecticut thank you so much Thank you so much lower thank you and I think all of our colleagues who are here today and all of them have come out to be with us uh the state of women is resilient in the face of the trump administration whose coordinated halloween out of government is hurting women so much of the damage does not get the kind of coverage that it should the chaos of the White House dominates the news but the trump administration's rollback or clear even in just the Agencies that I oversee as chair of the appropriations subcommittee on labor health education and human services examples the Department of health and human services decrease nursing home protections for seniors 70 percent of whom are women it attacked contraceptive care costing women one point four billion dollars per year and copayment it went after planned parent with title 10 and comprehensive sex education it is in the This of the sampling the affordable care which for the first time place women health on par with men's health in this country and you've heard the phrase before uh it was a being a woman for the first time was not a preexisting condition the Department of education rolled back protections for sexual assault survivors and allowed predatory for profit colleges to get away with Financially exploiting women seeking a College education women comprise 56 percent of those enrolled in colleges and universities 65 percent of those at for profit colleges and a hold two thirds of outstanding student debt it's roughly about 800 billion dollars the Department of agriculture limited millions of women's access to anti hunger programs including the supplemental nutrition assistance program the food stamp program research has shown that across their lives women are As likely as men to have receive snap benefits we're just kept approximately 42 point two million people all over this great nation from going hungry and the Department of labor and rapidly over time rule which the Institute for women's policy research said would have provided over time pay for protections for three point two million women the Department of education also effectively reverse steps by the Obama Administration or this is the Department of labor to fix the gender pay gap specifically the previously approved ceo uh dash one form which would have helped 30 point six million women negotiate for equal pay they did so even when women in two thousand 19 continue to make only eighty cents on the dollar on average compared to men but the state of women is resilient we are not The way we are fighting back the House just welcomed its most diverse class in history including the most female members ever we have five full Committee chairs we have 28 uh full our subcommittee chairs in the House and I'm proud to say in the appropriations Committee we have the most uh subcommittee chairs um and full Committee chairs um and we know that women when women are at the table the agenda change changes so we are seizing the To advance a positive agenda for women families and working people to on rig those rules to level the playing field we're gonna pass paycheck fairness that way everyone can more fully contribute to the richness of America and to pocket what they have earned time has come for women to make the same pay as men for the same work my mother luisa de laura was new haven Connecticut the longest serving member of the city Council not the longest running moment Serving member over 35 years of service when she was only 21 years old she wrote a call to action for women everywhere she closed it by saying and I quote come on girls let's make ourselves um when they make themselves heard in the two thousand eighteen midterms we are making ourselves heard now because in spite of this administration's regulatory attacks the state of women is was and will be strong it gives me great pleasure To introduce to you someone who is a a real fighter for um women and their families is now she chairs the congressional black caucus and thank you Good afternoon everyone I want to thank congresswoman lawrence and um congresswoman frankel for their leadership and the Democratic women's working group for putting this together so I'm here to talk about the state of black women in this country so the state of our pain is unequal according to the us census Bureau black women in the United States are typically paid 61 cents for every dollar paid to a White man but instead of creating job programs are investing in raising wages what does the trump Administration do about it he signs a tax scam guaranteed to benefit only the richest Americans with a recycled promise of trickle down that we've been waiting on since the 19 eighty s the state of our health is not well black women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy related death the percentage of black women that die in childbirth is higher than most developed countries if not any developed country on the planet were more likely to Heart disease or diabetes as well but instead of investing in our health what does the trump administration do about it not only did he push a bill to take away health coverage from millions of Americans he continues to try to sabotage the affordable care act be a death by a million cuts the state of our freedom is under attack the incarceration rate for black women has increased 800 percent over the last 20 years at every level Women get involved in the criminal Justice system what happens to them while they're incarcerated and what happens when they get out our criminal Justice system lags behind in modernizing and humanizing the way it treats all women but especially black women given the disproportionate numbers the state of our pay the state of our health and the state of our freedom unfortunately there's not much good news but the state of our voice the state of our voice is powerful Administration sought in November 20 17 when Alabama to Doug Jones to Washington dc the senator from Alabama was elected because of the support of black women the administration side in November of 20 eighteen when we took back the House and watched history made as the first and second time a woman in the House of representatives was Speaker Nancy pelosi and you know what uh he He hasn't figured out how to deal with that situation but the power of our voice is clear we will hear the power tonight the woman I believe was elected as the governor of Georgia when she delivers her inspirational message stacey abrams we know that the administration will not be able to resist an attack afterwards he attacks because basically he's afraid of the power of our voice but whatever whenever we're faced with a tax we know that still we will rise thank you now I'd like to introduce one of our very powerful and dynamic and new members of the House of representatives from the great state of massachusetts I am President we will do it thank you madam share so wonderful to be here in solidarity with my fellow sister uh congresswoman uh both in solitary solidarity and I can argue and collective resistance um our very existence it seems is the resistance a lot of the times we find ourselves in tonight we The occupant of the White House to other customary phrase the state of our Union is strong if that is true it has little to do with the trump administration if our Union is strong it is because of its resilient people who have succeeded in spite of not because of the actions of this administration if our Union is strong it is because of the people who have been board who have sacrificed who have mobilized and organized to fight for our fundamental human rights in the state of our Union It is because of dreamers like my guest it's a nice state of the Union is stephanie from East Boston and refuses to allow her future or her family to become bargaining chips she is a dreamer her father is an asylum seeker and her mother is a gps holder stephanie bravely stand up against this hate Wall and the em bolding of rogue agencies with racist policies she is standing up and we have of our family and our entire community if are you It is because of mothers like sabrina polson who know the unimaginable pain of a gun stealing their child's life a childlike 17 year old trayvon who would have celebrated his 20 fourth birthday today women like sabrina fulton and lucy macbeth were fighting every day to ensure that not one more parent knows the heroin lost of gun violence and racial profiling in the state of our Union is strong it is because of survivors of sexual assault assault who when we were faced with forces to try to silence us we marched we rally and we build our own mega phones if the state of The Union is strong it is because of the disability advocates who put their bodies on the line fighting for health care Justice today we fortify ourselves with a vision of what is possible policy anchor and community and crafted by those most impacted each of the women standing here today represents hundreds and thousands more we walk through this life not just as individuals but carrying all those we have loved we have lost and who have shaped us together we're certain No one should go bankrupt while fighting for their lives we can have Medicare for all we can act with urgency to save our planet to an act a Green new deal every person deserves a good job and a livable future we can tackle the growing maternal mortality and female incarceration rates for black women together we will address the staggering student debt that is crippling dreams and choking up the full promise of our nation together we can actually lies our commitment to fair pay for fair work and provide back pay Contract workers crippled by the shutdown and the pay that they deserve together we can end the public health crisis of gun violence that is claiming lives on city blocks at schools and in our faith houses we have the conviction we have the political courage we have the women we need to lead us through this pivotal moment in our nation's history we have each other and we are the majority all right a lot of the snow oh yeah so first I'm gonna Um I was remiss to just uh to thank uh congresswoman lawrence and Frank will respectively for their leadership and their counsel and their mentorship and for convening all of us together today and now I would like to invite uh my freshman colleague and sister a congresswoman veronica escobar Well good afternoon it's great to be here and I have to say it is such a privilege to be here with these strong incredible women especially the returning members who have long been fighting for what is right and what is good especially for women in our country I'm so proud to be with the new members who have helped create and build this majority and this record number of women in Congress and tonight we will be seated in solidarity because we know that this country is better we know that Americans deserve better we know especially that women Deserve better congresswoman bass laid out the very stark reality that exists for a black woman in our country and the same is very much true for latinas in our country we to share some pretty heavy uh burdens and face significant obstacles when it comes to access to healthcare access to education and access to um good salaries and great jobs I would tell you Also that for immigrant women the challenge is especially great and it's never been greater than it has been over the last two years and I'm proud to stand here today with with my guest uh a dreamer from El paso a an incredible talent a woman who doesn't see obstacles but sees the future sitting in nevada represents what women in my community have to go through when they are treated as second class people and It's an idea that actually in many respects has it better than some immigrant women especially those women on the us Mexico border the safe and secure the us Mexico border where we have seen this administration rips children from the arms of their mothers and put them in cages all in the name of so called border security tonight we will undoubtedly here About the Wall that this administration has been so obsessed with those of us who live on the safe secure us Mexico border especially women likes and either especially like so many women in my community is made up of one quarter immigrants and we are one of the safest communities in the country we know that walls don't work we know that walls are unnecessary and we know that they are symbols of xenophobia and bigotry and hatred and I am so Proud of this caucus and I am so proud of this party that has said enough enough of all solutions that harm families enough of all solutions that harm communities I am so proud to be part of the majority that wants to solve real challenges to deal with climate change to deal with income inequities with deal to deal with access to health care for To finally deliver on the angel promise of comprehensive immigration reform those are real solutions that help our families that help our communities and at the same time fighting for equality for women the heads of households the Center of families the back bones of communities so I am proud to be in the majority with these women standing here with me proud to represent senator who represents the best future America has to offer and I'm looking forward to fighting for what is right and what is good with these women thank you get back The question question we have one other member who's joining us today madam ding uh have a great opportunity represent are so ambassador for women and she will have a few remarks and then we'll wrap up and take questions Thank you thank you and I wanna thank this able chairs uh for welcoming me uh to this majority to this caucus my name is madeline dina represent pennsylvania's fourth uh and I am a member of the Pennsylvania Commission for women I was on that Commission uh appointed by governor wolf and and just this week he asked me to remain on that Commission uh as I serve now in Congress uh I have to tell you it's very exciting to be here uh for what is the first state of the Union that I will see uh from the the House of representatives uh it's a thrill to be here uh but I'm very Certainly we know that this is an opportunity it's actually the obligation the constitutional obligation of this administration and this President to report honestly openly and fairly uh the truth about the state of our Union I agree with the women who stand with me the state of our Union is strong but I sadly believe it will not be because of the the message that we hear from this administration unfortunately I am worried uh that this administration will just zero in on a tantrum in a sandbox over a partial Wall that Mexico is going to pay for so I ask you the Members of the media to stay with us and demand that this administration speak globally to our aspirations as a country speak globally about protecting our environment speak globally about protecting our children and our family members from gun violence I do believe the state of our Union is strong not because of the spat that this administration wants to take up day after day after day but I believe it's strong for the person for example that I've invited today jamie a mo a columbine survivor Is joining me she became an activist she's a young mother herself she became an activist a much more engaged following parkland she could relate to the brilliant parkland students who will be here uh and so I say the state of our Union is strong because of people like jamie who believe that we must and we will do something to end gun violence thank you very much thank you thank you all everybody I just wanted to take uh a moment for the media to reflect and you'll be hearing more from me about this have you ever Thought about every time our country tries to create an image that reflects our democracy it's in the form of a woman so think about Justice in this country it's a woman who's blindfolded and holding the scales think about the one who sits on the top of this dome lady the statue of freedom it's a woman with a sword and a read in her hand think about when we talk about our country and the diversity and inclusion and being welcoming it's a woman the statue of liberty so it's got Consequence that we are gathered here today to say this 100 year a country that every time they try to pull the soul and the dignity and the passion of this country together it's on the arms and shoulders of a woman and so I want you all to know that as this clock is grows we're at the largest we've ever been we will continue to be the voice the compassion and the driving force of the policy thank you so much and we will open it up for question Thank you this is for one of the new members of Congress the freshman class this is your first state of the Union address and so much in advance has been said about the difference between the state of the Union in the last just a year ago not the least of which Nancy pelosi behind President South of guys what message do you want to send us by this historic first large group of minorities women in the freshman class and to President trump is supposed to talk about bipartisanship tonight are there areas you think you could work with President self sure I think it is yourself oh mary gay scanlon Pennsylvania fifth one of the four new female members for the Pennsylvania delegation um so I think what's different this year of course is the solidarity we now have 96 women and one of the Democratic delegation were wearing White in honor of the separatists um June fourth of this year will be the hundredth anniversary of the passage of the nineteenth amendment through Congress um I'm wearing a pin that was going by alice Paul who was Just to graduate from College in my district but it was given to her after she chained herself to one House fence demanding the right to vote so this is an ongoing struggle um and we're here where we're not here to play we're here to be serious I think it's about several of the um speakers of we're serious about making a better world for the people who represent for the children who follow us um we are hearing that the President has a message of unity and bipartisanship um just ask him to Actions match his words I mean if he says unity but then demands a Wall that literally disrupts unity or continues with divisive rhetoric then um you know bipartisanship and unity has to go both ways excellent input yes ma' am in the back hi today Eric trump said that a market trump has done more for women than anyone else in I think we all have family members who we love and family members are simply encourage um and that's all I have to say about this because you know it's it's you know I'm on appropriations now and I have been telling people while giving this amazing opportunity you can say what you want to you can stand in front of the mic you can even pass a bill the follow the money what do we find where does that money go what are the results and so Um I wish the family well Yes now these are from Cbs to go for joining us um donations go to look at the President he's going to be looking at you all and um once I will see your caucus many and White many women on the Republican side there's only 21 women in all of Congress including the House and the Senate together and 30 minutes yeah I'm I'm curious if you have conversations with Republican women whether they're in Congress or not and if you can speak to sort of a need on the other side and we know they're showing you know what's happening with a lack of women representation in both parties You know that all women were invited to wear White tonight we did it on a bipartisan basis there is a bipartisan women's caucus it's difficult on some issues uh last cycle we did a lot of work on sexual harassment training is gonna be our representative leading the bipartisan along with mandela dean and we we try we actually do try Just to say I I think I'm a lot of the folks here the longest and I think back to the cooperative effort of bipartisanship amongst for women like connie mirella and Pat schroeder and large rock em up and a barbecue and ellie and then Johnson and myself and others a new low in Nancy pelosi um where we the waste matter where we came together uh particularly around the issue of women's health uh we're made a tremendous difference uh and being To come forward of a public policy of that focus on women's health and in particular I would mention that uh when I talk about agendas changing that is the advantage of women uh in great numbers during majority uh we were able at that time to make sure that the National institutes of health uh while they were no uh women in their clinical trials women or minorities they did their of their All of their testing on men and then extrapolated that to uh to uh you know to win when we were able on a bipartisan races to break that down also that today women are included in minorities are included in the clinical trials at the nih we have an office of women's health Department um of health and human services and the Department of labor so we have in the past I think uh there has been a hiatus from some of that in the future but today I sit on the appropriations Committee and I look to chairman um uh But also to ranking member kay granger uh and the women who serve and where we work collaboratively on issues that not only affect our state but affect of families in this country it is doable and the probably uh can exist at the rank and file uh level and a more robust way that people do understand that just coming in the last cycle we were able to work together with Republican women on sexual violence in the On the sexual assault scandal with a gymnast so we those are the kinds of issues as we make progress and we've made a commitment my Co chair is um stephanie debbie last go and jennifer go mats and we have committed to working on domestic violence for women we are committed to working on ending that that horrible statistic that the United States is known for being the leading country in the We are going backwards in the number of women dying in childbirth that is unacceptable and so maternal mortality domestic violence and poverty with women one more question I just answered that yes um I just wanted to add that um you know I do think and this is a no way giving short shrift to the contributions of our male colleagues but I do think that women do lead differently that we our convenience we are coalition builders and as I stated before when we are at the table the conversation shifts and that's true regardless of which side of the aisle that you that you are on uh we have already shown our ability and our desire to work together um both on um hr eight uh the gun bill Uh there's been bipartisan work done together uh to begin the skirt uh human trafficking um and there are shared uh burdens and everything from a limited health care access to addressing um uh the cost of child care uh the challenges for caregivers and so many other issues and so um coming from lawrence our chair a very uh eloquently spoke to what women in body naturally which is why we have become the symbol of freedom and Justice and that would not be true if we were not eternal optimist so looking To be optimistic and continue to be um a convenience and facilitators and agitators to what we need to be so we're gonna have to have someone with three hands up if you just ask your question then we'll respond collectively yes I David Smith of the quality and for those reasons just described and the other issues you talked about if you think it's important that the Democratic nominee in 20 20 as a woman and the next question so I'm gonna ask about reproductive rights and obviously it's been back in the news with the passage of this bill in the House plan to deal with that on Answer and we've heard pretty strongly from one of your freshman colleagues look what she would like to do to this President uh wondering where you as a group to take a position that this could be donald trump's last ok let's say I think I think that the nominee does anyone who uh touch that I think whoever it is she should be the best candidate I I agree with that I think it's way too early I appreciate the question but what I do think is telling me is look at the number of people who have thrown their hat in the ring How many of them are women I think back on uh my granddaughter seven years old uh her first President was President barack Obama a black man is she thought her second President was going to be a girl as she said Hillary I love the lens through which she looked because whether it was gender or color it did not matter to her so may the best woman win right I'm on the issue of reproductive health I mean you're gonna see us fighting very hard on that issue the Democrats are not That in any way oh our caucus is very firmly pro choice there will be legislation uh hopefully that we will pass that will protect the public from all over the state laws that seem to put obstacles in front of abortion and um I'll be appropriations Committee out there already put forth to find contraception and so forth and health care and the third one was uh what do we wanted to present it well a lot of your members said the golden piece so so listen I need this or that we have heard from all of us I I know I will just speak for myself I'm always tired about hearing about this President I mean we're putting forth a positive agenda the Democrats are in the majority did that women were sweating and we have work to do and uh we're hoping that the President comes along they're going forward all right thank you want to respond to to the question of reproductive health I have told women who are pro choice and have had I mean pro life and have had Very deep discussions I am so pro choice so every woman in America who wants to be pro life has that choice that is what this is about this is not when you say someone's pro choice it is not advocating that women get abortions is advocating that a woman has the right to choose what's right for her her body her family and her God and I will never back down from that when it comes to our President I want a President that is going to represent the people of this country first of President and understands what Means a President that respects the decor man the the processes and our traditions of this great country I want a President that I can stand up and say I'm proud of even if I disagree with their policy so I am not talking about donald trump I'm talking about the office of the President and I'm talking about the people of this country that we have been sent here to represent and despite all that you see our democracy is strong enough to stand through this with the Millions of women who have traditionally throughout history never sit down when they were confronted with challenges we have one of the greatest challenges that I know this country has confronted and with the leadership of women and this great carcass we're gonna get the job done thank you all somebody