Many Americans hoped 2016 was going to be the year we elected the first woman to the White House. Instead, the first female nominee of any major party lost to the most brazenly misogynistic candidate in modern history—Donald Trump. He won with the support of over 50 percent of white women who voted. Critics and supporters alike have urged Americans not to take his campaign comments literally.

In that case, what should we take seriously? The truth is, Donald Trump’s offensive, anti-woman rhetoric has been mirrored by Republican policy for decades.

We should take the President-elect at his word. And even if we don’t, we should take seriously Republican efforts to limit women’s health care, revoke women’s autonomy over their own bodies, and destroy the safety net that so many women and their families depend on.

We need to figure out how to step up in 2017 and beyond to make America as fair as we know it can be. This election made clear that America is not a post-sexist society in which all women have “made it.” Sure, women have seen huge gains in employment, education, and economic autonomy since the 1960s. Yet in 2017 women and children are still more likely to live in poverty.

Take my good friend Chanel. She’s a 22-year-old single mom raising two kids and trying to make ends meet on minimum wage and $400 a month in federal assistance. She wants to be a nurse one day and is in school and studying hard to realize that dream. She has to get her kids to doctor appointments and school, budget for food, stay in school so she can maintain her housing, and afford diapers.

And she is not alone. Forty-two million Americans live in poverty. That’s almost hard to believe, right?

Each woman’s story may be different, but they are all working hard to get by—and somehow, they still can’t make that paycheck cover everything they need to survive.

In our country, the wealthiest on earth, roughly 1.5 million American households get by on $2 a day.

Imagine you’re a single (or married) parent with a child. Maybe you earn the minimum wage waiting tables, working at a Walmart or Target, or working at a fast-food restaurant. Or, maybe you have a salaried job but haven’t seen your wages rise with the changing economy. Maybe you’re a teacher or a Postal Service employee. You work hard and play by the rules, but it’s tough to make ends meet. In Minneapolis, one of the cities I represent in Congress, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is almost $1,500 a month. Add in a few hundred dollars for utilities and groceries. If you have a kid or are caring for a loved one, you’re also thinking about day care, diapers, or visits to the doctor.

Try to write a budget that makes this work. I bet you can’t do it.

But every year 20 million Americans try. And most of them are women.

Our anti-poverty programs have helped millions of people build a better life. In fact, our safety net programs cut the poverty rate in half. In large part, the dramatic decline in poverty is thanks to safety net programs like food stamps, housing subsidies, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Social Security, Medicare, and other assistance programs.

No matter how much these programs have helped, there are still people in Congress fighting to end them entirely.

Let’s be clear: If Republicans successfully gut Medicaid, repeal the majority of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), privatize Social Security, or eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, women will be impacted the most.