Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) was elected Thursday as the Democratic chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues, the primary bipartisan coalition for women’s issues. [IMGCAP(1)]

Slaughter, an eight-term Representative, focuses on women’s issues such as domestic violence, women’s health and access to capital for women-owned businesses.

As Democratic chairwoman, Slaughter plans to focus on protecting Title IX, ensuring opportunities for women-owned businesses to compete for federal contracts, and supporting important women’s health funding and priorities.

Columbia Mural. Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is leading Columbia Mural. Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is leading 60 House Members in a call to create a color mural in the Capitol to memorialize the seven astronauts who died in the space shuttle Columbia disaster. Hoyer sent the letter Friday to the Joint Library Committee, the Architect of the Capitol and the House Curator. He requested that a mural depicting the likenesses of the crew be placed in the Brumidi Corridor. The corridor contains murals of the first flight of the Wright brothers, America’s first moon landing and the crew of the space shuttle Challenger. House Members in a call to create a color mural in the Capitol to memorialize the seven astronauts who died in the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

Hoyer sent the letter Friday to the Joint Library Committee, the Architect of the Capitol and the House Curator. He requested that a mural depicting the likenesses of the crew be placed in the Brumidi Corridor. The corridor contains murals of the first flight of the Wright brothers, America’s first moon landing and the crew of the space shuttle Challenger.

“We cannot think of a better way to pay lasting tribute to the astronauts aboard Columbia than to place them among the great explorers and inventors in American history who dared to expand our understanding and push us beyond the confines of both earth and space,” the letter said.

— Katie Kennon and Erin P. Billings