[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 78 (Wednesday, June 5, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H3109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, on June 10, 1963, President John F. 
Kennedy signed the bipartisan Equal Pay Act, which requires equal pay 
for equal work. A great idea, but 50 years later women earn 77 cents 
for every dollar men make--a yearly gap of over $11,000 between working 
men and women. Women of color earn even less.
  Does anyone think that if this Congress were a majority of women, 
that this bill would still be stonewalled from even being debated in 
this House and by this Republican majority? We would debate the 
Paycheck Fairness Act right away.
  Since most American families rely on women's wages, the pay gap means 
$11,000 less every year for their groceries, rent, and doctors' visits. 
And the effects last a lifetime, resulting in lower pensions and Social 
Security benefits.
  Fifty years--a half a century--is far too long for women to wait for 
paycheck fairness. Here is a little warning: women may not be a 
majority here now, but we are a majority of voters.
  Let's pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.

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