[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 54 (Monday, April 16, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E519-E520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RESTORING ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR AMERICAN WOMEN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 16, 2012

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the report 
released earlier this month by The White House Council on Women and 
Girls which provided a sampling of the policies, programs, and 
legislative initiatives that have resulted from the Administration's 
efforts to create an economy built to last for American women. I cannot 
stress enough how critical women are to our nation's economic success 
and how there still exists an ever-present need for us to continue our 
efforts to end discriminatory practices in the workforce.
  It is vital for us to work together to ensure women's economic 
security through all stages of life--from young women furthering their 
education and beginning their careers, to working women who create jobs 
and provide for their families, to seniors in retirement or getting 
ready for retirement. Many positive steps have been taken and much 
change has been effectuated, but there is much more that can be and 
should be done.
  Today, more than ever, women's efforts in the workforce are essential 
to sustaining a strong economy, not to mention that more women now are 
the primary income earners in most American families. Yet women in our 
economy and our work force are still earning just 77 cents on every 
dollar paid to men. Couple the gender gap with statistics on race and 
it is even worse. African American women earn a mere 64 cents on the 
dollar, while Hispanic women receive an appalling 56 cents on the 
dollar compared to men. How can this still be when women now make up 
nearly fifty percent of our workforce? Families are effectively losing 
part of their income every month due to this gender inequality.
  We must put an end to discriminatory practices in the workforce once 
and for all. Expanding economic opportunities for women is critical to 
building an economy that restores security for middle class families. 
We must promote such an economy by encouraging the advancement of women 
in education and the workforce and by rewarding their efforts equally 
and accordingly. We must ensure that women who want to continue their 
education and attend college and graduate school can do so. We must 
ensure that when a woman seeks higher employment she is able to attain 
it without being discriminated based on her gender and more importantly 
where she will receive equal pay as her male counterpart. We must 
ensure that fulfillment of such goals for women are not an 
improbability, but a guarantee.
  We no longer live in the 1950s where a sole income earner, 
historically a man, could support an entire family. We are living in an 
era where the want for a dual income is not a luxury, but a necessity 
to sustain a middle class family. I applaud President Obama's hard work 
to ensure that women are treated equally in the workforce and paid 
fairly for their work. From signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, 
to creating the National Equal Pay Task Force, President Obama has 
fought for equality for women in the workforce, and there is no reason 
why this Congress should not work equally as hard to support and 
advance his efforts. There should be no second class citizens in our 
workplaces in the twenty-first century.
  In a time where women's labor force participation has increased 
dramatically and where families are becoming increasingly reliant on 
women's incomes due to the rising cost of living, how does it make 
sense that pay disparities between men and women still persist? Why 
must women face greater risk for income insecurity than men? The 
reality is that over the course of her lifetime, these pay 
discrepancies can cost a woman and her family tens or hundreds of 
thousands of dollars in lost wages, reduced pensions, and reduced 
Social Security benefits. Why is it that the Republican majority is not 
concerned about these disparities?
  The statistics on this issue are very clear; we cannot have a vibrant 
society if women are not doing well. The success of American women is 
critical for the success of American families and the American economy. 
Consequently, when women still face barriers to participation in the 
workplace and marketplace, it affects all Americans.
  Unfortunately, rather than concentrating on eliminating such 
discrepancies and ensuring equality, the Republican majority has 
instead been fixated on limiting women's rights and freedoms. For over 
a year now the Republican majority has taken aim at denying women 
access to health care and restricting women's choices in the area of 
reproductive health altogether. This is an incredibly ill-guided waste 
of time, and makes no economic sense. When women are denied access to 
health care or have to pay more for their health care than men, it 
hurts entire families and in turn the economy as a whole. In 31 states, 
all of the best-selling plans engage in gender rating. And in states 
that permit this practice, 92 percent of the best-selling plans charge 
40-year-old women more than 40-year-old men for identical coverage. In 
the aggregate, women spend an estimated $1 billion more than men for 
equivalent health coverage. We should be working together to eliminate 
these disparities, instead of fending off attacks by the Republican 
majority who have continuously brought forth anti-women's health 
legislation in the 112th Congress and attacked the Affordable Care Act 
which beginning in 2014 will prohibit insurance companies from charging 
women more for health insurance simply because of their gender.
  The Republican majority has taken minor breaks from attacking women's 
rights in this Congress only to work on stripping senior benefits and 
ending Medicare as we know it. All seniors should be able to retire 
with dignity, and live out their final years with security and access 
to healthcare. This should not be a privilege enjoyed by the 1 percent. 
We must work to ensure that senior citizens receive the care they need 
when they are most vulnerable; but instead the Republicans want to hand 
them a voucher and have them fend for themselves with insurance 
companies. The coverage Medicare provides is particularly critical for 
women, because of their greater life expectancies and partially because 
of costs related to preventive services such as mammograms and bone 
density tests.
  As a result of lower earnings during her time in the workforce, an 
elderly woman rarely has a significant income from her pension, as 
compared to the average elderly man. So it should not be surprising 
that elderly women rely on Social Security to a greater extent than 
men, and over half of America's more than 48 million Medicare 
beneficiaries are women. And this is where unequal pay throughout a 
woman's working lifetime comes full circle.
  Mr. Speaker, let us in Congress work together to pass legislation 
that outlaws gender discrimination, allows for prosecution of pay 
discrimination against women, invests in child care, and supports the 
advancement of women as they provide for their families and save for 
the future. It is through our hard work to ensure equal treatment of 
all women in the workforce, marketplace, and society as a whole that we 
can resoundingly voice our commitment to support American women and 
families.

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