[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 12 (Wednesday, February 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                                 ______


                        HON. MICHAEL A. ANDREWS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 9, 1994

  Mr. ANDREWS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I sent the following 
letter to the President of the United States encouraging him to enforce 
the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
  My colleagues who signed the letter include: Mrs. Schroeder, Mr. 
Hochbrueckner, Mr. Filner, Mrs. Kennelly, Mr. Abercrombie, Ms. Brown of 
Florida, Ms. Furse, Ms. Kaptur, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Woolsey, 
Ms. Velazquez, Mrs. Byrne, Miss Collins of Michigan, and Mrs. Unsoeld.
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, February 7, 1994.
       Dear Mr. President: In 1992, American women earned an 
     average of 75 cents for every dollar earned by men. College 
     educated women earned $10,000 less than men with the same 
     education. Calculated over a lifetime, this means a woman can 
     expect to lose approximately $420,000 due to unequal pay 
     practices.
       These startling facts indicate gender-based wage 
     discrimination continues to exist in the United States. We 
     are concerned because this is a violation of civil rights and 
     a serious economic threat. Unequal pay between women and men 
     fuels other problems within our economy, including the health 
     care crisis, the growing number of working poor and the 
     number of children living in poverty.
       Clearly, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC] 
     has been remiss in recent years in enforcing the Equal Pay 
     Act of 1963, which prohibits discrimination based upon sex. 
     In recent years, we have seen the number of equal pay cases 
     pursued by the EEOC fall from 79 in 1980 to 2 in 1992.
       Given these sobering facts, we want to be sure that your 
     administration is taking the proper steps to enforce the 
     Equal Pay Act of 1963. The lack of commitment to this problem 
     by previous administrations largely explains the huge drop in 
     equal pay cases the EEOC has pursued. There are currently 
     three open seats on the EEOC--one being the Chair--awaiting 
     your appointment.
       We strongly urge you, as soon as possible, to go forward 
     with your nominations to the EEOC and emphasize the 
     importance of pursuing violations of the Equal Pay Act of 
     1963. The scope and magnitude of this issue is too important 
     to be ignored any longer.
       We look forward to working with you to ensure that women 
     are paid based upon appropriate job criteria, not gender.
           Very truly yours,
         Michael A. Andrews; Patricia Schroeder; Marcy Kaptur; 
           Barbara B. Kennelly; Elizabeth Furse; Bob Filner; Nancy 
           Pelosi; Nydia M. Velazquez; Jolene Unsoeld; Corrine 
           Brown; Neil Abercrombie; George J. Hochbrueckner; 
           Carolyn B. Maloney; Lynn C. Woolsey; Barbara-Rose 
           Collins; Leslie Byrne.
  

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