[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 10 (Friday, January 16, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S646-S647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT

  Mrs. HAGAN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Lilly 
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Before I do so, please allow me to thank my 
colleagues in the Senate, so many of whom have gone out of their way to 
help welcome me into this body. Both Majority Leader Reid and Senator 
Durbin have made these first days in the Senate as smooth as possible, 
as has the entire Democratic leadership: Senators Schumer, Murray, 
Dorgan, and Stabenow. These first few weeks in the Senate are an 
exercise in thinking on your feet, adapting quickly, and soaking it all 
in. I appreciate all they have done to help me hit the ground running. 
Their advice and guidance have been so important to me.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, including Leader 
McConnell and especially the senior Senator from North Carolina, 
Richard Burr, have also been very helpful both to me and my staff. 
There is too much to be done in this country to differentiate a 
Republican idea from a Democratic idea. We just need good ideas. I hope 
to work with all of my colleagues to identify and implement as many as 
I can.
  Thanks also to the primary sponsor of this bill, Senator Mikulski, 
whom I was honored to have walk with me as I was sworn in as one of 100 
Senators and one of 17 female Senators in this body. I wish to thank 
Senator Mikulski, who has led the way for women her entire career, for 
her leadership in this body and on this important bill. I am honored to 
be one of the 16 other women for whom she has paved the way.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to help deliver for those in our country who are struggling to 
provide for themselves and their families. A few days before our new 
President is sworn in, there is a sense of urgency but also a

[[Page S647]]

sense of optimism. I am so honored to be a part of this body at this 
historic time.
  As I said, I rise in support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, 
which will restore protections against pay discrimination in the 
workplace. This bill would reestablish a fair rule for filing claims of 
pay discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, religion, 
age, or disability.
  A few months ago, this bill's namesake, Lilly Ledbetter, joined me at 
several roundtable events in North Carolina. Her courage and 
determination were inspiring. She is committed to this cause even 
though it is too late to do anything in her own case.
  In North Carolina, families are facing a serious enough challenge 
trying to make ends meet on a full paycheck, never mind trying to do so 
on a paycheck reduced by discrimination. Women in my home State make an 
average of 78 cents for every dollar that men make for similar jobs and 
responsibilities. In these tough economic times--when families are 
being forced to choose between putting food on the table and filling a 
prescription; can no longer afford the payments on their house, their 
own small part of the American dream; are being forced to dip into 
their savings to help pay their bills--why would anyone find it 
acceptable for women to make less than men or white workers to make 
more than African Americans or someone to be discriminated against 
based on national origin, religion, or disability? Why would we allow 
it to be more difficult for working families instead of less?
  When someone is discriminated against in the workplace or anywhere 
else, surely they feel the impact of that discrimination for longer 
than 180 days. This bill would restore a reasonable time limit for 
filing pay discrimination claims, reestablishing the longstanding rule 
currently applied by 9 courts of appeals and the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission in pay discrimination cases before this 
unfortunate Supreme Court decision in May 2007.
  Importantly, this bill does not hold employers responsible for 
decades and decades of back pay. Current law limits back pay awards to 
2 years before the worker filed the claim. This bill does not change 
that. It is limited to 2 years of back pay. When discrimination in the 
workplace results in a lower wage for those discriminated against, the 
people responsible should be held accountable. This bill helps them to 
do that. It does not place an undue burden on employers, nor does it 
open them up to decades-old litigation. It simply says, for all of the 
legal jargon, that it is not acceptable for women to make less than men 
on the same job with the same qualifications and with the same 
performance. In 2009, that is not too much to ask.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________