[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EQUAL PAY PROTECTION

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 3, 2001

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, when President John F. Kennedy signed the 
Equal Pay Act into law on June 10, 1963, women on average earned 61 
cents for each dollar earned by a man.
  Today, working women only earn 73 cents for every dollar earned by 
men, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  President Kennedy told his fellow citizens that he was taking the 
first step in addressing `the unconscionable practice of paying female 
employees less wages than male employees for the same job.'
  While progress has been made, still more needs to be done and, if 
Congress acts this year, more can be achieved.
  In my state of California, families lose a staggering 21 billion 
dollars of income annually to the wage gap.
  If women in California received equal pay, poverty in single mom 
households would go from 19.2 percent to 9.2 percent.
  Women in the Inland empire for example loss on average 4 thousand 
dollars every year because of unequal pay.
  This is money that can't buy groceries, housing, child care, clothing 
for their families.
  I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 781, The Paycheck Fairness Act 
and the Fair Pay Act, legislation currently pending in Congress that is 
designed to help eliminate the wage gap that still exists between men 
and women.
  Many working women lack the basic benefits they need in order to care 
for their families.
  They are our grandmothers, mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, and 
colleagues.
  They are our doctors, lawyers, teachers, caregivers, and leaders.
  Women lawyers earn $300 less than male attorneys.
  Female doctors make $500 less than their male colleagues.
  Wages for female nurses, where 95 percent are women, are $30 less 
each week than male nurses who only make up 5 percent.
  Waitresses weekly earnings are $50 less than waiters' earnings.
  The situation is even worse for women of color. African American 
women earn only 67 cents and Latinas 58 cents for every dollar that men 
earn.
  They wage gap impacts women's retirement also. Women have less to 
save for their futures and will earn smaller pensions than men.
  We need to recognize working women and we need to pay them equally.
  On the job, working women are looking for higher pay, better benefits 
and, most of all, the three ``Rs'': Respect, Recognition and Reward for 
a job well done.
  Half of all older women receive a private pension in 1998 got less 
than $3,486 per year, compared with $7,020 per year for older men.
  Before the end of this year, let's pass this legislation to finally 
make the work of America's women valued, fair, equitable and just.
  Let's work to bring equal pay to every woman in America.
  They deserve it and their families deserve it.
  Let's get the job done.

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