[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 18 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 LILLY LEDBETTER AND PAYCHECK FAIRNESS

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago this week, the Lilly Ledbetter 
Fair Pay Act was signed into law. Named after a true hero who was 
shortchanged by her employer for decades and who fought back all the 
way to the Supreme Court, the Lilly Ledbetter Act ensured that women 
who are discriminated against have the right to sue as long as their 
unequal pay continues.
  This was a good first step, but we have to do more to achieve real 
pay equity in America. Today, women are still only paid 77 cents on the 
dollar as compared to men for the very same job. They lose out on 
between $400,000 and $2 million over a lifetime. This is an injustice.
  It is time to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act already passed twice by 
this body. It would give real teeth to the Equal Pay Act. It has been 
almost 50 years since Congress passed the Equal Pay Act. It is time to 
ensure that one-half of America's workforce is paid as fairly as the 
other half.

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