House Committee on Armed Services. The House
leadership granted her request, and she became the
first woman to serve on that committee. In the
1980’s, she used her position on the committee to
challenge the Ronald Reagan administration’s de-
fense policies.
In addition to addressing defense issues, Repre-
sentative Schroeder worked on issues relating to
women and children, introducing bills to eliminate
gender inequities in wages and promotions, to pro-
vide funds to open shelters for abused children, and
to expand Head Start programs. As the chair of the
National Task Force on Equal Rights for Women, she
advocated federal subsidization of abortions. After
a number of women’s health clinics were violently
attacked by antiabortion protesters in late 1984,
Schroeder regularly appeared on television news
programs to denounce the violence.
Schroeder used her position on the Armed Ser-
vices Committee to change the role of women in the
military. Her Military Family Act of 1985 helped im-
prove the situation of military families. In 1988,
Schroeder was appointed chair of the Defense Bur-
den Sharing Panel, a task force of
the Armed Ser vices Committee. She
also introduced legislation to pro-
vide women a greater chance of par-
ticipation in all areas of the military.
In 1987, Schroeder spent five
months traveling around the United
States seeking support for a possi-
ble campaign for president of the
United States in 1988. She withdrew
from the race at an emotional press
conference on September 28, 1987.
Bursting into tears as supporters
chanted “Run, Pat, Run,” she was
lampooned on the satirical late-
night television program Saturday
Night Live. On the program, Nora
Dunn portrayed Schroeder attempt-
ing to moderate a Democratic pri-
mary debate, while repeatedly burst-
ing into tears.Impact Schroeder worked to keep
the interests of women and children
at the forefront of debate in the U.S.
House of Representatives. She was one of the co-
founders of the Congressional Women’s Issues Cau-
cus. She also challenged the Reagan administration,
adding the well-known phrase “Teflon President” to
the American political lexicon. Frustrated in her in-
ability to make her charges stick, she once described
President Reagan, “He’s just like a Teflon frying pan:
Nothing sticks to him.”Further Reading
Lowy, Joan A.Pat Schroeder: A Woman of the House.
Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press,
2003.
Schroeder, Pat.Twenty-Four Years of House Work—and
the Place Is Still a Mess: My Life in Politics. Kansas
City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel, 1998.
John David Rausch, Jr.See also Abortion; Congress, U.S.; Elections in the
United States, 1988; Glass ceiling; Liberalism in U.S.
politics; Military ban on homosexuals; Military
spending; Reagan, Ronald; Women in the work-
force.The Eighties in America Schroeder, Pat 853
Pat Schroeder tearfully announces on September 28, 1987, that she will not seek the
Democratic presidential nomination.(AP/Wide World Photos)