Meng Amendment to Restore Funding to Department of Labor's Women's Bureau Passed by House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, an amendment sponsored by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) to restore more than $1 million to the U.S. Department of Labor's Women's Bureau was passed by the House of Representatives as part of a broad spending package to fund the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2018. Meng's measure restores the funding after it was initially cut in the underlying spending legislation.

The Women's Bureau conducts research to help Departmental agencies develop policies that advance the interests of working women. It plans and executes research and advises other agencies on the structure and implementation of a wide-range of worker programs.

"As a working woman, and a working mother, I am intimately aware of the barriers women still face in the workplace," said Meng. "Women today make only 80 cents for every dollar a man earns and encounter obstacle after obstacle to attain promotions and raises, protections against pregnancy and sex discrimination, and adequate workplace flexibility, especially for young mothers. The work performed by the Women's Bureau is critical in researching, analyzing, and proposing policy and program solutions to address these problems that threaten women's economic security. Its funding should not be cut by one cent, let alone more than a million dollars. I'm pleased my colleagues agreed, and passed my amendment in a truly bipartisan fashion. I'd like to thank every New York State Democrat for voting in favor of my amendment, and I would particularly like to thank my New York State Republican colleagues who voted for its passage, including Reps. Lee Zeldin, Peter King, Dan Donovan, John Faso, Tom Reed, and John Katko."

Meng's amendment passed by a vote of 220-198.