For most women, including women who want to have children, contraception is not an option; it is a basic health care necessity.

We have a responsibility to promote stem cell research which could lead to treatments and cures for diseases affecting millions of Americans.

We all know that girls who compete in sports perform better in school, are physically healthier and have a stronger self-esteem.

The Defense Department must do a better job of providing the best possible care for service women who are victims of sexual assault.

While many have been left behind by Part D, there is a clear winner: the drug industry. Independent analysts predict that Part D will increase drug industry profits by $139 billion over the next eight years. Glaxo-SmithKline's second-quarter net income already jumped 14 percent, and other leading drug companies also have benefited.

Let's clean up our environment. Let's clean up our bodies, but most importantly, let's not permit our babies of the future to be polluted before they are even born.

And whether it is equal pay, health care, Social Security, or family leave, this Congress has refused to address issues critical to hard-working American women.