Scanlon sounds off on impeachment, ‘Me Too’ issues
RADNOR >> While the meeting at the Radnor Memorial Library Friday was billed as a discussion of equity in the workplace, Democratic congresswomen Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, and Jackie Speier, who represents California, talked about many issues.
Before the meeting, Scanlon, who along with Speier voted to impeach President Donald Trump, said, there was “serious evidence” against the president “for pressuring a foreign country for personal political favor” and trying to cover it up. Now it is up to the Senate and she hopes it hears “full evidence” on it. Scanlon and her office have been trying to educate constituents on the impeachment process, which happens rarely and have held town halls.
Asked whether the senators who are vying for the Democratic nomination to run against President Trump in the fall should recuse themselves from sitting in judgement because of their conflict of interest, Scanlon, a lawyer, said, “I don’t they have a conflict, they will have to run against someone but I don’t think that’s in their choosing. I think the bigger issue is the senators who said came out and said, ‘I’m going to work hand in glove with the White House’ or ‘I don’t care what the evidence says. But those senators are not upholding their constitutional duty which is to hear the evidence and judge. It’s not about the man, it’s about what is happening to the office of the president and are we going to have a democracy if there is a situation where the president doesn’t follow the rule of law, doesn’t allow Congress to know what he or she is doing, takes money that congress appropriated and refuses to use it. That’s what we saw yesterday when the GAO (Government Accountability Office) report found the president had violated the law by refusing to spend the money that had been allocated. So it’s about the rule of law it’s not about the person.
Asked about members of Congress who said immediately after he was elected that they would impeach Trump, Scanlon said it was only one or two.
“I hope Republicans would not be held to what their wildest statements of its members,” she said. “At one point Leader (Nancy) Pelosi said, ‘He’s going to impeach himself.’ If he hadn’t done anything yet impeachable, this is someone who doesn’t know how government works and he doesn’t respect the rule of law or our constitutional limits.”
There was also the Robber Mueller investigation underway and there was “a lot of evidence in the press that there was impeachable conduct,” added Scanlon, who serves as vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
Responding to a residents’ question, Scanlon said the House Judiciary Committee will continue to investigate the president and his administration regardless of the impeachment outcome.
During the first part of the session, Scanlon interviewed Speier, who shares a Washington, D.C., apartment with her. They spoke about the increasing numbers of women who were elected to office in 2018. Speier, who was elected in 2008, mentioned how having more women in creates a different atmosphere.
Newsweek named Speier as one of the 150 fearless women in the world, said Scanlon, and as one of the 50 most influential people in U.S. politics by Politico for bringing the Me Too movement to the House.
Twelve years ago there were just fewer than 100 women out of 435 members, serving in Congress. Now there are 102 women in the House and 25 women in the Senate.
“The change that has been so remarkable is the change in climate,” said Speier. “Because we saw so many more women get elected to Congress.”
She decried the lack of Republican women serving and said, “What a difference it makes when you have the leader of your party, a woman.”
Critical mass in equalizing a setting is 40 percent, but the House has
23 percent so “we’re not there yet,” she said. Women bring different perspectives, she said.
Meanwhile, there has been required sexual harassment training for the last two years, she noted. And the rules have changed for staff members who want to make a claim that they were harassed. They no longer have to go through a lengthy cooling off process and arbitration. And members are required to pay their own settlements in these cases, rather than the taxpayers.
Speier also discussed sexual assault on college campuses and in the military. More women are serving in the military, where she claimed there have been 20,000 to
25,000 sexual assaults annually but only 5,000 reported. Of those, 500 go to trial and 250 result in a sentence.
On college campuses women between 18 and
24 are three times more likely to experience sexual harassment or assault, she said. Speier introduced the Title IX protection Act for safety on campuses and the Hull Act that holds institutions liable for not providing protection to students. But these bills have not passed the House yet.
Speier said often alcohol is part of the problem but
20 percent of co-eds are either sexually assaulted or there is an attempted sexual assault. Also, one in 16 men is also assaulted.
There should also be a requirement for greater transparency so parents know whether campuses are safe.
“There needs to be a recognition that often times this conduct goes on…there needs to be investigations the victim needs to be informed,” she said. Also, the two parties need to be separated so the victim does not have to live in the same dorm with her assailant, she said.
Virginia last week became the 38th state to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and Congress is looking into extending the deadline for states to pass it so that it finally becomes a constitutional amendment. This year, 2020, also marks 100 years since women earned the right to vote in the U.S.
Congress had its first hearing on the ERA in 35 years, said Speier.
A woman who came with a sign that said “Medicare for All” asked about health care.
Speier said that the Affordable Care Act was a step in the right direction and that Medicare should be offered to those who do not have health insurance through their employers.
Another man said that he was worried about the November election, getting laughter and nods of agreement from the audience. If the Democrats run a farleft candidate they will not get independents and disaffected Trump voters, he said.
Scanlon said there is a “sorting-out” process going on but she is concerned about the effect of modern communication. Speier said she has “a lot of faith in voters.” But as a member of the Intelligence Committee, she is concerned about foreign interference in the election.
She also believes AfricanAmerican voters will play a major role in the primaries.
“I do think we have to get rid of the Electoral College and I’m sick of the Iowa caucuses,” she said to applause.