Rumor has it that activist voices are making a difference in drawing support for saving the Women's Educational Equity Act, but the program is still not included in spending bills. Calls, faxes, and E-mails are needed immediately -- before the House/Senate Conference Committee votes. Urge Chair Arlen Specter (R-PA) (202-224-4254; fax 202-228-1229; E-MAIL: [email protected] and Ranking Member Robert Byrd (D-WVA) (202-224-3954; fax 202-228-0002) to fully fund this program, the only one specifically addressing gender equity in the schools.

No, we don't mean they're bringing the female Senators' salaries into line with the guys (that's one of the few places where women get equal pay). Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is introducing the Fair Pay Act in the Senate on Thursday, March 21st. It's not too late for your Senator to sign on as an original co-sponsor. FPA prohibits discrimination in pay for jobs of equal value whether or not the work is the same, and it calls for companies to publicly report salary statistics by gender and race. This is the most important economic legislation for women introduced in this decade. Fair pay will empower women from the bedroom to the boardroom . Call your Senator (202-225-3121) today, and ask that s/he show support for this issue (consistently number one with women in the polls) by signing on as a co-sponsor. Urge President Clinton to publicly support the bill at 202-366-1111; fax 202-366-7202; E-MAIL [email protected] For more information on the Fair Pay Act or a copy of the petition for fair pay to circulate in your community, call the National Committee on Pay Equity at 202-331-7343.

The Comstock Law was passed in 1873 to intimidate Margaret Sanger and others who made birth control and abortion information available to women through the mail. The birth control prohibition was deleted in 1971, but the abortion portion remains -- the maximum fine was increased in 1994 from $5,000 to $250,000. The recent telecommunications law extends Comstock to prohibit abortion information on the Internet. Rep. Pat Schroeder has introduced H.R.3057 to overturn this provision; the companion bill is S.1592, sponsored by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). The biblical maxim the truth shall set you free means nothing to the cretins who support this old-testament era thinking. This bill does not overturn the anti-obscenity language, only the prohibition on abortion speech. Call your Representatives and Senators today (202- 225-3121).

Did you know that women comprise 60% of minimum wage workers? A single mother with 2 children working at minimum is about 30% below the poverty line. Senators Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) will seek a vote very soon on S.413, a bill to increase the minimum wage to $5.15, possibly March 21st or 22nd. Washington advocacy groups are coordinating a massive letter campaign in support of this raise, and grass roots input is needed now. Call, write, or fax your Senator (202-225-3121). If conservatives really want women off welfare, they should vote for an increase in the minimum wage. For information on the minimum wage or the campaign, contact Christine Owens or Michelle Magar at the Worker Options Resource Center at 202-265-9573.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) of Anita Hill Judiciary Abuse fame, has chosen Women's History Month to hold hearings promoting a bill to permanently reauthorize the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. But the bill leaves out hate crimes against women. The Act was originally passed in 1990 without reference to gender crimes, as we girls agreed once more to "wait our turn". Our turn never comes if this bill is reauthorized as it currently stands. WFF suspects Hatch has been listening to the FBI's assistant director, who opposes including gender in this anti-bias bill because law enforcement officers wonder "Is the crime of rape motivated by lust or hate?" (WFF lusts after Rolex watches. So if we assault the next guy we see wearing a Rolex, will we be excused because it was a crime of passion?) Activists should fax or call Senator Hatch (202-224-5251; fax 202-224-6331) or your Senator and give them a reason to fear the gender gap if hate crimes against women aren't included in this bill.

Anti-abortion rabids are increasingly attacking abortion rights at the city council level, as evidenced by one city ordinance requiring 48-hour parental notification with extremely narrow exceptions for judicial bypass. But the City of Concord, New Hampshire has taken a pro-women approach and has adopted two measures aimed at protecting access to reproductive health care. Ordinance 4-8 prohibits aggressive picketing, interference with access to a health care facility, and targeted residential picketing. Ordinance 4-9 authorizes police to disperse gatherings on city property with block access. To get a copy of these ordinances as a model for your city, send $1 to the Concord City Clerk, 41 Green Street, Concord, N.H. 03301; 603-225-8500.

Girls Incorporated is a national youth organization dedicated to helping every girl become strong, smart, and bold. For the past four months they've been running a national campaign for 33 million girls and their families to rid TV of gender stereotypes. GIRLS RECAST TV is a long-term media literacy and advocacy project with the goal of giving girls a platform to tell the TV industry what they like and don't like about TV's portrayal of females. The campaign's free "Action Kit" is loaded with information about how to watch TV with a gender sensitive eye; it contains phone numbers and addresses of those who control media content along with strategy for communicating with them. Order the kit from Girls Inc. at 441 W. Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202-3233; 317-634-7546; fax 317-634-3024 E-MAIL: [email protected]

March is Women's History Month -- but it hasn't always been. The month-long U.S. celebration was imported from Europe and Asia, where International Women's Day has been celebrated since March 8, 1911. The day was first recognized here in the 1970's, and a women history week was recognized by Congress in 1981 in a Joint Congressional Resolution by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). Since 1987 Women's History Month resolutions have been introduced yearly, with bipartisan support. The Resolution acknowledges the "role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued in the literature, teaching, and study of American History."

The Alice Paul Centennial Foundation has a limited supply of 75th Suffrage Anniversary memorabilia at special prices, great for Women's History Month. Commemorative flashlight torches and Passing the Torch t-shirts are available for $5 each from P.O. Box 472, Moorestown, N.J. 80857. Women Change America, a 16-page tabloid on famous and not-so-famous women that shaped our history, can be ordered for $1 plus postage from the National Women's History Project, 707-838-6000. Honor your own family history by placing a plaque and a written statement about the special woman in your life in a special Wall of Fame alcove at the National Women's Hall of Fame, $100. (315-568-8060)

Two national hot lines have recently been put in place to help women. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-SAFE; Tdd 800-787-3224. Women can call 800-584-9911 to get emergency info on legal, proven methods for after-the-fact contraception.