A brief recap of ‘Tampongate,’ the week’s strangest controversy on Capitol Hill

All’s well that ends well — or maybe it’s a case of much ado about nothing — in an odd dispute that roiled Capitol Hill this week: “Tampongate.”

It started when Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, a candidate for New York attorney general, claimed that the Committee on House Administration has a “discriminatory policy” that bars members’ offices from buying tampons for use by female staff and visitors. The committee, led by Republicans, manages the daily operations of the House, including overseeing administrative functions.

Here’s his story.

“Earlier this [week], my office got an email saying that we couldn’t use our funds to buy tampons. . . . When we called out the committee that makes the rules, they denied the rule exists in the first place,” Maloney tweeted Thursday.

The message went a tiny bit viral — Maloney’s first video had 11,200 views as of Friday afternoon.

His claims raised an interesting question: At a time when the treatment of women in the workplace is under a microscope, was a Republican-led committee really denying an office’s ability to buy feminine products for staff and visitors?

The answer is no, according to that committee.

“It is absolutely permissible to purchase necessary health and safety products to have in the office, especially in case of an emergency,” House Administration spokeswoman Erin McCracken said Friday in a statement to The Washington Post.

McCracken also said Maloney didn’t reach out for clarification on the committee’s policy before taking his case to Twitter.

According to Maloney, the expense was specifically rejected by the Office of Finance, which told him the tampons were “not an office supply but a personal care item.” The CHA helps set policy for the Chief Administrative Officer of the House, which oversees the Office of Finance.

The congressman, who is running for attorney general against three female candidates to replace a female incumbent, has quickly made the issue a priority.

By Friday morning, he had written a strongly worded letter to CHA Chairman Gregg Harper, R-Miss., and tweeted about the controversy four times.

Everything appeared resolved on Friday afternoon.

“Glad to see CHA has clarified their policy and reversed the decision made under their direction,” Maloney spokesman Ian Lee said in a statement. “This is an important opportunity for CHA to make clear to their employees — and to other members — that Congressional offices welcome women and men, and both should have access to the hygienic products they need.”

As for Maloney’s tweets, they’re still making their way around the internet as he continues his campaign.

“My office recently got smacked down by the powers that be in the House because we had the temerity to offer feminine hygiene products to the women who work for me,” Maloney said in a video posted Thursday night.

“By the way, a majority of my staff is female,” he said.



from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/2KzQJht

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

U.S. nuns demand action to end ‘culture of silence’ on abuse

Vatican City • The largest U.S. association of Roman Catholic nuns urged its members Monday to report any sexual abuse of religious sisters by clergy and demanded that church authorities “take action to end a culture of silence, hold abusers accountable and provide support to those abused.” The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the U.S., issued a statement Monday in response to an Associated Press report about several sisters coming forward recently to denounce assaults by priests and bishops. The LCWR said it didn’t have data on incidents in the U.S. but thanked the sisters for speaking out. “We understand that reporting abuse requires courage and fortitude. However, bringing this horrific practice to light may be the only way that sexual abuse by those in positions of trust in the church community will be put to an end,” the association’s statement said. The conference has about 1,300 members in 300 orders. LCWR s
Read more

Latter-day Saint women can ‘remove prejudice’ and improve the world, Eubank says

Image
Highlights from Saturday evening’s women’s session of the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 6:30 p.m.: Jesus heals our brokenness, says Primary leader (Photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Cristina B. Franco, second counselor in the general presidency of the children’s Primary, speaks during the women's meeting Oct. 3, 2020. Cristina B. Franco, second counselor in the general presidency of the children’s Primary, discussed the healing power of Jesus Christ. She told about getting a new piano that fell off a hand truck during delivery and was damaged. The manager offered to give Franco and her husband, Rudy, a new piano, but Rudy would not hear of it. He wanted the broken one back. “Sisters and brothers, aren’t we all like this piano, a little broken, cracked and damaged, feeling like we will never be the same again?” Franco asked. But Jesus Christ can “heal brokenness,” when people have faith, repent and seek
Read more