On October 2nd, 2013 Rep. Barbara Lee of California asked for permission to address the United States House of Representatives for a few minutes regarding the Republican shutdown of government and the absolutely disastrous consequences this is having on the most vulnerable people in our society – namely women and children living in abject poverty.
“Mr. Speaker, here we are, day two of the Republican shutdown. The Tea Party extremists are really achieving their goal of dismantling government. Their shutdown is step one.”
“It’s no secret that the Tea Party Republicans came here not as public servants, but to destroy and decimate our government. Now, millions of families, children, seniors, Federal employees, and our economy are paying the price. The Republican refusal to back off their extreme, ideological demands has taken our country down a very dangerous path that will surely push millions more into hunger and poverty”, she said.
“In my congressional district and throughout the State of California families are already feeling the impact of the Republican government shutdown. The California Women, Infants, and Children program is on the brink of turning away low-income pregnant women and new mothers if this shutdown continues. How ruthless can you get?”, said Rep. Lee (source: Congressional Record: http://thomas.loc.gov).
Rep Lee House Committee and Subcommittee assignments include the following:
House Committee on Appropriations
– Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
– Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
House Committee on The Budget
House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee
Rep, Lee maintains the following leadership positions:
Senior Democratic Whip
Chair, Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity
Chair, Social Work Caucus
Vice-Chair, LGBT Equality Caucus
Whip, Congressional Progressive Caucus
Co-Chair, Out-of-Poverty Caucus
Co-Chair, Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus
Co-Chair, Congressional Black Caucus Poverty and Economy Task Force
Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus on Sudan and South Sudan
Co-Chair, Health Care Task Force, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
Co-Chair, Peace and Security Task Force, Congressional Progressive Caucus