Cathy McMorris Rodgers

OPINION — Benjamin Franklin once said, “Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes.”

Our Founding Fathers built the greatest country in the world through harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit. They had a wholly original concept from which was borne the United States of America. Centuries later, our country, from Pennsylvania in the east to Washington in the west, continues to reap the benefits of American entrepreneurship and zeal that empowers people to take an idea and make it a reality.

From Walla Walla to Brooklyn, and everywhere in between, community pharmacies are a bedrock of medical professionalism and the most accessible health care providers. Pharmacists are also among today’s most trusted professionals in America, according to Gallup.

That combination of accessibility and patient confidence puts local pharmacists in an ideal position to help address some of our country’s most pressing health care needs. For example, the misuse of legitimately prescribed medications — not taking enough, taking too much or not taking them at all — is estimated to cost our health care system $290 billion annually. In addition, the shortage of primary care providers is expected to be felt by more individuals as they obtain health insurance and seek basic preventive services such as immunizations and screenings. Community pharmacists stand at the front lines every day: ready, willing and able to help — no appointment necessary.

As a nation, we tend to focus primarily on the service members who willingly put themselves in harm’s way to protect the freedoms that we cherish. However, we often forget that the families they leave behind sacrifice just as much as our heroes do. These families are affected in countless ways, and we have an obligation to do right by them.

The challenges that they face are not a mystery. If a spouse rotates to a different military installation, the entire family is uprooted and has to create a new support structure. Their kids have to start new schools. The families have to identify new caregivers for their children, a new specialist if they have a family member with special needs and sometimes a new house if they are not living on the base. If the spouse is not in the military, then they also have to find a new job — often with new state credentialing requirements. Given these tough economic times, it is not difficult to imagine just how great this burden is for the families of our troops.

The Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues is celebrating its 31st anniversary this week, with a gala tonight honoring its leaders. As we observe this significant milestone, it’s important to recognize what a remarkable time this is for American women and pause to appreciate how far we have come as women both in Congress and across the country.

Consider this: Just 87 years after American women received the right to vote in federal elections, women now are expected to cast more than half of the votes in the upcoming 2008 election. This high level of participation shouldn’t surprise anyone. Already, women manage more than half of household incomes, control more than half the money in the New York Stock Exchange and make most of the health care decisions in the family, all while trying to balance the demands of work and family life.