By Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Judy Holland
Published: April 26, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand is poised to become the sixth of an exclusive club on Capitol Hill: women who have given birth while serving in the U.S. House …Gillibrand is lanning how she will balance her young family with a demanding congressional schedule. "All working parents have to juggle their families and responsibilities," said Gillibrand, who says she is "just like any other working parent."

By KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND

All the children of New York deserve affordable quality health care. Yet, on Oct. 3, for only the fourth time, President Bush used his veto power to block a bill to fund a program in New York and other states that makes great strides in making that goal a reality. The program known as Child Health Plus was created in 1997 to provide coverage for children in families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance.

Published July 31, 2007

It's long been an axiom that "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer," but in today's America, it is the shrinking middle class that seems to get it in the neck with the greatest ferocity.

In an Albany appearance last week at a daycare center, Rep. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-Hudson, showed her awareness of that fact. She is mounting a push in Washington to expand the Child & Dependent Care tax credit from $600 to $1,200 for parents with one or more children, and from $1,200 to $2,400 for parents with two or more dependents.

U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport, announced new legislation Monday that she said would help working families with child care costs. 

During a news conference at the Mercy Care For Kids Daycare Center at St. Peter's Hospital, Gillibrand introduced the Family Care Act of 2007.

The proposal would double the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for middle-class families that make up to $100,000... Click Here to Read More

By MAURY THOMPSON

* U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., may be attempting to live up to the moniker "Wonder Woman," as some readers of this blog referred to her in recent weeks.

During a telephone interview with The Post-Star on Monday afternoon, Gillibrand abruptly shouted, "Oh no!"

After a pause, the congresswoman, who was en route to Albany International Airport, explained that a dog had jumped out of the window of car in front of her vehicle.

"Hold on," she said to this reporter. "I’m going to jump out and help."

A commotion could be heard over the phone, and in a few minutes, Gillibrand came back on the line and said the dog was not hurt.

Gillibrand’s vehicle was stopped at a traffic light on Wolf Road in Albany at the time, and the dog jumped from the window of a car stopped in front of them, Rachel McEneny, the congresswoman’s spokeswoman, said later.

McEneny, who was riding in the vehicle with Gillibrand and other staff members, said it was "unbelievable" when the congresswoman got out of the car in traffic to rescue the dog.

* On a more serious note from the telephone interview, Gillibrand said support for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq is growing among members of Congress, but it may take more time to gain enough support to end the war.

During the Vietnam War, she said, Congress voted on some 30 different versions of resolutions over a period of four years before ending that conflict.

"It takes a very long time to end a war," she said.

Some peace activists have said Gillibrand’s support for ending the war has been inconsistent because she voted in favor of a temporary appropriations bill earlier this year that did not include a deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops.

Subsequently, she voted this month in favor of a House resolution that set a deadline for withdrawing troops.

Gillibrand said her voting has followed a consistent pattern of supporting resolutions that set a deadline for withdrawing troops and also supporting bills that provide temporary funding for troops.

Cutting funding for the war without a plan to withdraw forces would be disastrous, she said.

On another topic, Gillibrand said she was pleased the House passed a bill to increase the limits on the number of families that can receive assistance under a federal program that subsidizes rent for low-income families.