Republican women choose Jenniffer González as their Caucus Chair

Washington, DC- Congresswoman Jenniffer González Colón was elected by the Republican women of the U.S. House of Representatives to serve as their president of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Affairs and the newly elected representative for the Florida District 3, Kat Cammack, as its co-vice chair. During the 116th Congress, Gonzalez served as co-vice chair of the caucus.

"As the first woman to represent Puerto Rico in Congress, I'm honored to have been elected by my colleagues as the Women's Caucus Republican Co-Chair, especially in these historic times with the largest number of women serving in Congress," said incoming Co-Chair Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón. "Together we will work in a bipartisan manner to open doors for more women and girls to lead in politics and every aspect of our society."

The Democratic side chose Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04) as its chair and Lucy McBath (D-GA-06) as its co-vice chair.

The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues (Bipartisan Women's Caucus), created in 1977, is an organization of members of Congress composed of all female Republican and Democratic women in the United States House of Representatives. The leadership structure includes a Republican Co-Chair, a Democratic Co-Chair, a Republican Co-Vice Chair, and a Democratic Co-Vice Chair. They all serve a two-year term in Congress.

"I look forward to serving alongside Reps. González-Colón, Dean, and McBath as Vice-Chair of the Women's Caucus during the 117th Congress," said incoming Vice-Chair Rep. Kat Cammack. "The caucus is critical to continuing a tradition of bipartisan collaboration that works to ensure the values of American women nationwide are represented in federal policy. I'm excited to represent the Republican women of the 117th and to get to work on these important issues over the next two years."

"I am eager to step up and serve as Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, with my bipartisan colleagues Reps. González-Colón, McBath, and Cammack," incoming Co-Chair Rep. Madeleine Dean said. "I look forward to continuing the work as we move towards a better future for all women in this nation."

"I am so excited to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find policy solutions that make life better for the American families we represent," said incoming Vice-Chair Rep. Lucy McBath. "I look forward to helping this caucus embody bipartisanship, collaboration, and reconciliation so that together, we can work toward a future we are all proud of."

"It has been an honor to serve as Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Women's Caucus for the 116thCongress," said outgoing Co-Chair Rep. Debbie Lesko. "I would like to thank my Co-Chair, Congresswoman Lawrence for her work on the caucus and wish the best of luck to the newly elected leadership. I look forward to continuing to work with the caucus to advocate for women across our nation."

"I'm proud to have served as the Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Women's Caucus in the 116thCongress with my colleague and Co-Chair Rep. Debbie Lesko, and our Vice Chairs Madeleine Dean and Jenniffer González-Colón. We've made significant progress in addressing the needs of women and their families, including recognizing the historic 100th Anniversary of the 19thAmendment," said outgoing Co-Chair Rep. Brenda Lawrence. "As we enter the most diverse Congress in history with a record number of women serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, let us be reminded that our work is far from over. I stand ready to help the new leadership of the Bipartisan Women's Caucus in the 117th Congress identify solutions that support and empower women across the country. Women must lead, and there is more that unites us than divides us. That is the beauty of the Bipartisan Women's Caucus."

As co-vice chair of the Caucus, González Colón advocated legislation in favor of women such as H.R. 1230 to avoid discrimination against women for reasons of age; by funding federal programs focused on women such as H.R. 777 directed to perform analysis of accumulated DNA samples from offenders and crime victims, including "rape kits"; as well as administrative actions that impact women, such as asking the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to guide health providers about the consequences of the coronavirus on pregnant women, among other steps.

Moreover, Congresswoman Gonzalez organized roundtables and large events in Congress such as those related to NASA's Artemis lunar exploration program, with administrator Jim Bridenstine and two NASA female astronauts. The agency seeks to send the first woman and the next man, the Puerto Rican-born astronaut Joseph Acabá participates in the program, to the surface of the Moon within five years, landing them where humans have never been before: at the South Pole of the Moon.

She also hosted a fire chat with Voice of America (VOA) including journalists from the organization representing South and Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Persia, Eurasia, and Latin America to promote women in the media while providing professional development opportunities for VOA journalists.