[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 130 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. CAROLYN C. KILPATRICK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 31, 2008

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1338) to 
     amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more 
     effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the 
     payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes.

  Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Chairman, in 2008, a year in which women have 
made unprecedented gains in public and private leadership--Speaker of 
the U.S. House of Representatives; chairwomen of powerful committees 
and subcommittees; chief executive officers and chairwomen of Fortune 
500 Companies, among many others--it is simply unforgivable and 
unacceptable that women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, continue 
to make only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Over a 
lifetime, this is anywhere from $400,000 to more than $2 million 
dollars that cannot be spent by a woman on food for her children, 
clothing for her grandparents, for decent housing for her and her 
family. In an era in heightened economic challenges, we should not, we 
cannot undervalue, underappreciate and marginalize the hard work that 
women do each and every day.

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