Democratic Women’s Caucus Urges Department of Labor to Abandon Efforts to Eliminate the Women’s Bureau; Restore the Bureau to its Full Function
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) members Ilhan Omar (MN-05) & Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) and Servicewomen, Women Veterans, and Military Families Task Force Chair Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) led 34 DWC members in a letter to U.S Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her and the administration to immediately restore the Women’s Bureau to its full function and funding, fulfill the terminated grants to help women workers, and abandon all efforts to eliminate the Bureau. This follows an April letter where DWC Members urged Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to stand with women workers by protecting and strengthening the Women’s Bureau at the DOL. The requests from that letter were either not received or willfully ignored.
In their letter, Members explained the importance of the Women’s Bureau, including its over 105 years of bipartisan support, and detailed how the Trump administration’s attacks on it.
“As we emphasized in our April 2025 letter, the Women’s Bureau plays a critical and singular role in promoting the economic security and workplace rights of women. In its 105 years, the Bureau has helped women enter the workforce by addressing the specific issues they face when working, such as access to child care, paid leave, sexual harassment on the job, and more. They also perform and house essential research including the database of child care prices which is now stalled. The Bureau has effectively collaborated across the entire federal government and provided insight to help workplaces adjust to historic and cultural shifts that have shaped women’s experience in the workplace,” the Members explained.
“Terminating WANTO and FARE grants that help women enter the trades and be safer at work is despicable. The Trump administration has continuously touted that it is ‘protecting women,’ yet we have only seen it cut funding and support for women across the country. The 20 grants that were terminated would have: created a pathway for women into nontraditional occupations and apprenticeship in the skilled craft trades and advanced manufacturing in Mississippi; helped women enter pre-apprenticeships and be connected to employers in Arkansas; increased women’s participation in apprenticeships in Maryland; helped tradeswomen impacted by gender-based violence across the country, and more,” the Members continued.
“Finally, the FY26 DOL’s Budget in Brief and the President’s budget calls for the elimination of the Women’s Bureau, calling it ‘an ineffective policy office that is a relic of the past.’ The proposed elimination of the Women’s Bureau and termination of grants that support women in the workforce is a total betrayal of women across the country. We call on you to immediately restore the Women’s Bureau to its full function and funding, fulfill the terminated grants, and abandon all efforts to eliminate the Bureau,” the Members implored.
“We stand ready to work with you to restore and strengthen the Bureau and its resources. Women across the country are counting on federal leadership that recognizes their value, addresses the challenges they face, fights for their economic security, and keeps their word,” the Members finished.
The full letter can be accessed here.
In addition to letter leads Ilhan Omar, Suzanne Bonamici, and Chrissy Houlahan, the letter was signed by Alma Adams, Nanette Barragán, Joyce Beatty, Julia Brownley, Nikki Budzinski, Judy Chu, Jasmine Crockett, Laura Friedman, Val Hoyle, Pramila Jayapal, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Jennifer McClellan, Betty McCollum, LaMonica McIver, Kelly Morrison, Eleanor Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chellie Pingree, Delia Ramirez, Deborah Ross, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Lateefah Simon, Emilia Sykes, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Jill Tokuda, Nydia Velázquez, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nikema Williams, and Frederica Wilson.