She plans to tackle women’s issues in Washington
SACRAMENTO — Assemblywoman Patty Berg begins a three-day lobbying trip to Washington D.C. Monday, where she will meet with Congressional leaders on a range of issues affecting California.
Berg, D-Eureka, will join a legislative team headed by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. The Assembly delegation is expected to meet with U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, as well as a range of congressional committee chairs.
Berg, who chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus, intends to discuss goals of that caucus with Rep. Lois Capps, D-California, who co-chairs the Congressional Women’s Caucus.
“This trip gives us a wonderful opportunity to highlight issues that are important to women and families,” said Berg. “With women now serving at the highest levels of national politics, we need to begin addressing women’s issues in a systematic way.”
Berg plans to address workplace issues such as family leave, child care, pay equity and health care with the congressional delegation. More importantly, she is looking to open and create a stronger relationship between the national and California’s women’s caucuses.
“From these meetings, I hope to create a dialogue between the women’s caucuses,” said Berg. “I want our caucuses to have better interaction with each other and begin to create balanced workplace policies that help families with their care-giving responsibilities.”
The Assembly goes to Washington D.C. annually to interact with the California Congressional delegation and others to discuss California issues. This year, Berg was selected to go to Washington D.C. because she is the chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus.