Women and Communities of Color Could Suffer from the Super Committee 12’s Lack of Diversity

Note: This article was first published by Science Progress

Those of us who waited with baited breath to see which members of Congress would be appointed to the supercommittee of 12 to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years are likely unsurprised at the lack of diversity on the bipartisan congressional committee. While Republicans failed to appoint a single female member or member of color, at least the Democrats selected Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC), and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA).

Our country is 51 percent female, 13 percent African American, and 16 percent Hispanic, so it is extremely disheartening that Sen. Murray will be the only woman on the panel while Rep. Clyburn is its only African American member and Rep. Becerra is its only Latino member (there are no Asian Pacific Islander or Native American members).

We know that committee members will make important choices between spending cuts and tax breaks. Women and communities of color are both populations that rely disproportionately on safety net programs, but women of color constitute the most vulnerable population that relies on these services in this economic climate. This group currently lacks even a single representative member on the committee.

But this disappointment with the breakdown of the committee goes beyond simple dissatisfaction with parity in representation — it is concern over the great disconnect between members of this extraordinarily powerful committee and the communities that will disproportionately suffer from further cuts.

The committee’s lack of diversity reflects Congress’s current composition

The lack of diversity on the joint committee is not surprising precisely because of the lack of diversity in Congress overall. Women hold only 17 percent of congressional seats, with 75 seats in the House and 17 seats in the Senate (ranking the United States 90th in the world in terms of gender parity in national legislatures). African Americans comprise only 8 percent of the total membership with 44 seats in the House, yet they no longer enjoy a single seat in the Senate after its only African American member, Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL), retired last year. Hispanics only make up 6 percent of the total membership, with 29 seats in the House and 2 seats in the Senate. Asian Pacific Islander members make up 3 percent, with 11 seats in the House and 2 seats in the Senate, and there is a sole Native American member in the House.

Some critics of parity in representation argue that we should focus more on experience than gender, racial, or ethnic characteristics. What is worrying about the lack of diversity on this committee, however, is precisely the lack of experience—specifically the majority of members’ lack of familiarity with the critical role that many programs play in the lives of low-income communities. This bipartisan committee has been granted the extraordinary powers of coming up with an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions, and we know that its members are going to be considering further cuts to discretionary spending as well as cuts to entitlement programs and revenue increases.

It seems particularly unrepresentative for some of the wealthiest members of Congress to hold the fate of low-income communities in their hands. It should surprise no one that all but one of the six Republican members of this committee rank in the top half of the House or Senate in their net worth. In contrast, all but one of the six Democrats rank near or in the bottom half of the House or Senate in their net worth, according to annual tables kept by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Consider that information side by side with a recent Pew study on racial wealth gaps that reveals that national wealth disparities are currently the largest they have ever been since the government started publishing this data 25 years ago. The median wealth of white households is 20 times greater than that of black households and 18 times greater than Hispanic households.

Pages: 1 · 2

News and Issues, Issues, Politics, Government, Senior Women Web, Articles

Women and Communities of Color Could Suffer from the Super Committee 12’s Lack of Diversity

The committee’s lack of diversity reflects Congress’s current composition

More Articles