While in Congress, she became the first woman to serve on the House Armed Services Committee. She was also a Congress member of the original Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families that was established in 1983. Known in her early tenure for balancing her congressional work with motherhood, even bringing diapers to the floor of Congress, she was known for advocacy on work-family issues, a prime mover behind the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and the 1985 Military Family Act. Schroeder was also involved in reform of Congress itself, working to weaken the long-standing control of committees by their chairs, sparring with Speaker Carl Albert over congressional "hideaways," and questioning why Congress members who lived in their offices should not be taxed for the benefit.