[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 87 (Friday, June 20, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H4090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H4090]]
                              FAIR PAY ACT

  (Ms. VELAZQUEZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, while the Republicans are trying to give 
huge tax breaks to the rich, working people struggle to make ends meet. 
While the Republicans attempt to deny the minimum wage to women trying 
to move from welfare to work, the challenge for working women to 
achieve pay equity becomes more difficult.
  For Hispanic women, the challenge is greater still. Tomorrow, June 
21, will mark the day when Hispanic women earn what white men earned 
the year before for comparable work, and Hispanic women, they pay 
payroll taxes. That is taxes.
  We know that discrimination is wrong, but employers continue to get 
away with wage discrimination despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act 
30 years ago.
  Today I rise in support of the Fair Pay Act, which requires employers 
to pay equal wages for compatible work.
  While the Republicans try to keep women from even earning the minimum 
wage, the Democrats are fighting to provide fairness for working women.

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