now on booktv "after words" democratic senator tammy duckworth of illinois talks about her life and career in the military and senate, interviewed by the congressional editor. thank you for joining us today to discuss your book. >> thanks for having me. i'm excited to be here. >> host: i wanted to start your entire life story is moving. as an editor though i love the portion of the book where you say people tell me i'm the first senator to have a baby while in office, no i'm the first to give birth while in office. i am hoping you and i can have a candid conversation about what that was like on a personal level. >> anit is a traditional institution. how awkward was that talking through. as soon we were successful we began having the conversations and we were pretty evenly divided. by the way the senate rules is like cannot take leave because if i do then i can't introduce legislation, i can devote or do anything. i couldn't even give birth where i wanted because they would have been stuck there and you can't take a newborn on an airplane. from the beginning i knew we would have to work thr

for more about the challenges and what can be done, i spoke recently with senator tammy duckworth, a crat from illinois. she's introduced legislation that would hold airlines accountable when a wheelchair is damaged as well as improve traveling conditions for passengers with disabilities. senator duckworth, thank you very much for joining us. these stories we're hearing from travelers are just terrible. how typical are they? >> they are very, very typical. i probably see damage to my own wheelchair about every third flight that i take, so it is fairly frequent. imagine if it was, you know, a human -- somebody's leg. if we were to say every third flight we took the airlines broke your leg, the response would be people would be absolutely appalled. >> woodruff: and, senator, this is on top of all the other issues that travelers with disabilities have to deal with if the first place. >> yes. well, there are just general access issues, you know. a lot of the flight we're on, most people don't realize the bathrooms and accessible, sometimes the terminals are not accessible. when you get to

we are running out of time, i appreciate you taking time, senator tammy duckworth. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> still ahead. if there is a media figure on the right who couldn't one, single statement management massages to, and i signed and denigrate trump as well, who do you think that person might? b i will give you a hint, there are nine -- name rhymes with sucker parson. after this. on after this ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list event. at progressive, we love your pets as much as you do, like this guy in a hat. that's why progressive car insurance covers your pets for up to $1,000 if they're ever in a car accident with you. this mini majorette's gonna march her way right into your heart. -i'm sorry. can we stop? i know that we're selling car insurance here, but, you know, all the cute little animals, it's too much. define "too much." what's wrong with cute animals? -so are we doing this or what? -nah, it's over. [ sighs ] well, someone's got to break the news to mittens. [ squeaks softly ] she's a diva. [ mittens sque

senator tammy duckworth, a veteran and mother herself, cosponsored the protecting moms who served actroving maternal care for veterans, and studying racial disparities in maternal healthcare. >> what this is going to do, is going to make it easier to coordinate their maternity care with the va and community providers. it will help them identify mental health and behavioral health risk factors throughout maternity care that may come about. it will also offer childbirth reparation classes. >> one of the bills assigned directs the va to help fill open federal healthcare positions, including at the va. another piece of legislation orders a study on racial disparities and benefits, to make sure every service member receives what they have earned. >>> u.s. performer and civil rights activist josephine baker is making history again. the legendary singer and dancer is receiving the highest honor in france, nearly half a century after her death. elaine cobb has this story from paris. >> reporter: the revered voice of josephine baker echoed through the famous monument in streets around. 46 year

just click the button near the top of the page now on booktv "after words" democratic senator tammy duckworth of illinois talks about her life and career in the military and senate, interviewed by the congressional editor. thank you for joining us today to discuss your book. >> thanks for having me. i'm excited to be here. >> host: i wanted to start your entire life story is moving. as an editor though i love the portion of the book where you say people tell me i'm the first senator to have a baby while

congresswoman tammy duckworth explained biden is next step should be, quote, to cancel up to 50,$000bt to ease this burden even further and boost our economy. biden extended the loan payment pause until may 1st. a college dean in california openly mocks what she's calling the stench of conservative genders, just so we are clear on the right's agenda, abortion bad, money goes, women bed, white people good, nonwhite people bad. stingy indeed. they defend the remark saying the school, quote, not censor professors for exercising free speech and sharing their perspectives. the students in a virginia school district suing over critical race theory, the suit claims the antiracism policy is racist at its core and indoctrinate children in medical ideology. the effort to push back against crt helping prepare glenn youngcan to the governor's mansion, he takes office january 15th. ashley: mortgage free homes to veterans who are sick or wounded. this christmas they surprised when military family with a brand-new home. rusty carol, executive director and jeff clemens, joining me now. good morning,

you said what is daddy's name and what is mommy's name and she said in the professional voice tammy duckworth. [laughter] was it tough to talk about your current situation as a working mom? to have them maintain their privacy? how did you wrestle with that quick. >> if you asked me about it when i first ran for office i would not have talked about it but after having my kids are having gone through senate campaign while on ivf and trying to get pregnant. i decided i had to talk about it for other moms are women that are struggling with fertility issues. because people would come up to me and have this idea with the heroics with the treatment and i want people to know there is no such thing of work life balance. it is a lie. it's a lie that is perpetuated the person nation and families in the long run. there is a worklife balance we must pass things like universal family leave, paid family leave. we need to have it and here is why. the fact military women. in 2014 they have to report back even if they had a cesarean even added a duty station was afghanistan they have to do that. that is wrong.

in addition, senator tammy duckworth has been monitoring the situation and will help us get whatever relief is necessary. i also spoke with amazon earlier today and implored them to provide every assistance to this community which they have said they intend to do. iima continues to work with officials to actively monitor storms and their impact throughout the state especially in central illinois. that includes coordinating with utility companies to ensure that power is restored as soon as possible to illinoisans who lost it. approximately 50% of those who lost power had it restored by 7:00 a.m. today. and utilities are working around the clock to bring that to 100% restored as fast as possible. this storm system hit many other communities and we are in communication with all of them to help meet their needs. at this time, no additional region has requested resources from iema though we stand ready to assist. i am deeply thankful that at this time there are no additional injuries or deaths reported due to the storms. to anyone who experienced damage to your home or your business, we w

in addition, senator tammy duckworth has been monitoring the situation and will help us get whatever federal relief is necessary. i also spoke with amazon earlier today and implored them to provide every assistance to this community, which they have said they intend to do. iema continues to work directly with local officials to actively monitor storms and their impacts throughout the state, especially in central illinois. that includes coordinating with utility companies to ensure that power is restored as soon as possible to illinoisappns who lt it. 50% who lost power had it restored by 7:00 a.m. today. utilities are working around the clock to bring that to 100% restored as fast as possible. this storm system hit many other communities, and we are in communication with all of them to help meet their needs. at this time no additional region has requested resources from iema, though we stand ready to assist. i am deeply thankful that at this time there are no additional injuries or deaths reported due to these storms. to anyone who experienced damage to your home or your business, we

and on the other side is tammy duckworth the first senator to have a baby while holding office and the first to bring a baby to an active session of congress although most people would say there have always been babies in congress. looking is in the middle gear. group fives ends with women now in their 40s and the reason i do that is i want to know everything they've done in terms of marriage, children and generally i can measure most of that by the time they are in their 40s. i don't mean to say women in their 20s and 30s aren't left out, group fives still continues. so let's explore all of their journeys to understand why we are not yet there. thank you. >> will doctor golden, so nice to see you. we spoke earlier and you asked me too call you claudia which i am delighted to do. i want to acknowledge your vast work and experience. i also wish we could have you join us in person. i know you are speaking to us from one of your offices at harvard university. >> absolutely. >> will have to have you back out here at some point in the future. thank you so much it's an honor to speak with yo

and the reason why both senator joni ernst and senator tammy duckworth, two of the female armed service veterans in the u.s. senate from both the democrat and republican party, the reason they support this bill is because they believe if you put the bright line at felonies and treat all servicemembers the same regardless of the crime, that you won't be further marginalizing women servicemembers. they won't be perceived as receiving special treatment. and if they are being perceived as special treatment that's being perceived as a pink court, and we would like to avoid pink courts. we would like to avoid the perception of the special treatment. we believe if you're reforming the military justice system at secretary austin has said, that it needs to be unbiased, it needs to be professionalized and independent of the chain of command, that what's good for this set of crimes is good for all set of crimes just as the i.r.c. has recommended. second, we know that this type of system actually strengthens commanders because it allows them to focus on winning wars and training troops. this bifurc

iraq war combat veteran, senator tammy duckworth, saying when i was recovering at walter reed, bob doleas a patient, too, 81 years old then, and he had his own private room but always did rehab with the rest of us, cracking jokes and sharing stories about his army days. it was an honor to be able to call him a friend. taking your phone calls. world war ii veterans and their family members, (202) 748-8002. otherwise, phone lines split regionally. (202) 748-8000, eastern or central time zones. (202) 748-8001, mountain or pacific time zones. this is jerry out of idaho falls. caller: good morning. i honor bob dole as a hero. he received the purple heart. my father was a gunner, another uncle turned 18 the day he hit the shore of iwo jima as a young marine. when my turn came, i went to vietnam to honor this country. i find it a shame that during the early part of my life, we always elected war veterans to serve as our commander-in-chief. bob dole should have been elected because, as the commander in chief need somebody who understands the cost of war and also the necessity of it. instead of

i thank senators tammy duckworth, marsha blackburn, and mark braun for introducing the companion bill in the senate. last year, the house passed this noncontroversial bill by voice vote and i'm hoping for that result again in the house and in the senate. as a teenager, rya kinney, the founder -- and i efrp size founder -- emphasize founder, who worked on the home front foundation -- her own foundation. and my constituent, as she is, came up with the idea of a memorial to honor the women on the home front who supported world war ii in its effort. she rightfully questioned why the women on home front whose efforts were so instrumental in maintaining the stability of our country during world war ii have not received as much recognition for their contributions as the men who fought bravely in world war ii. this bill would authorize the women who worked on the home front foundation to establish a memorial to honor these women. the memorial is designed to be interactive and to educate visitors on the important role women played during world war ii. between 1940 and 1945, the percentage of w