Welfare reform

She quickly made her presence known, drawing upon her experience in vocal opposition to the major welfare reform initiative negotiated by House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Bill Clinton in the mid-1990s. She later led efforts to restore programmatic funding for services such as child care, nutrition, and paid parental leave. She also passed legislation increasing the power of the IRS to enforce payment of delinquent child support.^[9]

Iraq

Woolsey was an outspoken opponent of the War in Iraq. On October 10, 2002, she was among 133 members of the House who voted against authorizing the invasion of Iraq.^[10] She took an active role in opposing continued U.S. presence, leading 15 members of Congress in writing a letter to President George W. Bush dated January 12, 2005, calling for the withdrawal of U.S. from Iraq.^[11] She also among the first Members of Congress to call for a troop withdrawal, when she introduced H.Con. Res. 35 on January 26, 2005. Woolsey gave war protester Cindy Sheehan a guest pass to attend Bush's 2006 State of the Union speech. Sheehan's attendance at the speech became noted when she was arrested for wearing a T-shirt with a political message.^[12] In the lead up to the 2008 elections, Woolsey, encouraged leaders of anti-war groups to field primary challenges to any Democrat who refused to support a vote ending the war in Iraq. In response, 15 members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a conservative-centrist group within the Democratic Party caucus in the House Representatives in safe seats, refused to contribute party dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Woolsey later stated that she was misunderstood, but the Blue Dogs continued the boycott.^[13]

Indian gaming

Woolsey introduced the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act on August 6, 1998.^[14] It was signed by President Clinton as Title XIV of the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act in December 2000.

Woolsey testified in support of H.R. 946, citing her approval for the clause restricting gaming on land that is "taken into trust for the tribes."^[15]

Woolsey's original bill (H.R. 4434, later H.R. 946) would not have permitted the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to have an Indian casino. Senator Barbara Boxer removed that prohibition when she included Woolsey's bill in the Omnibus Act.

In response, Woolsey introduced H.R. 2656 (which never left the House Resources Committee) and appeared frequently at local town-hall meetings, saying that the Miwok Indians double-crossed her by seeking to legalize gambling on their reservation.^[16]

Scouting for All Act

In September 2000, Woolsey sponsored H.R. 4892, the Scouting for All Act, to revoke the charter held by the Boy Scouts of America.^[17]

Recognition of Ramadan

On December 11, 2007, Woolsey, along with 8 other Democrats, voted ‘nay’ on a resolution to recognize the importance of "Christmas and the Christian faith" but did vote to "recognize the commencement of Ramadan",’ a Muslim religious observance in October.^[18]

Health care

Woolsey introduced a bill to revive the public option on July 22, 2010.^[19] The Congressional Budget Office projected that the legislation would save $68 billion between 2014 and 2020.^[20]

She was strongly critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which prevents private health insurance plans from covering abortion if the plan is subsidized by tax breaks in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act.^{[citation needed]}