[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2751-S2752]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 462--URGING THE UNITED STATES SOCCER FEDERATION TO 
 IMMEDIATELY ELIMINATE GENDER PAY INEQUITY AND TREAT ALL ATHLETES WITH 
                      THE SAME RESPECT AND DIGNITY

  Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Casey, Mr. Blumenthal, 
Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Leahy, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Warren, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mr. Brown, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Markey, Ms. 
Hirono, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Reid, and Mr. Carper) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 462

       Whereas title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 
     U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as ``title 
     IX'') requires schools and institutions of higher education 
     to provide the same opportunities for girls that the schools 
     and institutions of higher education provide for boys;
       Whereas 6 years after the date of enactment of title IX, 
     the approximate percentage of girls playing team sports 
     increased from 4 percent to 25 percent, a sixfold increase;
       Whereas the participation of girls in club soccer in the 
     United States increased by approximately 37 percent between 
     1995 and 2015;
       Whereas the participation of girls in high school soccer 
     programs increased by approximately 45 percent between 1999 
     and 2014;
       Whereas the participation of girls in team sports results 
     in lifelong improvements to the educational, work, and health 
     prospects of the girls;
       Whereas the United States Soccer Federation is the 
     governing body of soccer in all forms in the United States 
     and endeavors to make soccer a preeminent sport in the United 
     States;
       Whereas the United States Women's National Team has won 3 
     Federation Internationale de Football Association (commonly 
     referred to as ``FIFA'') Women's World Cups, 4 Olympic Gold 
     Medals, and 7 Confederation of North, Central America, and 
     Caribbean Association Football (commonly referred to as 
     ``CONCACAF'') Gold Cups;
       Whereas the United States Women's National Team is ranked 
     first in the world as of the date of adoption of this 
     resolution;
       Whereas the 2015 final Women's World Cup match generated an 
     audience of approximately 750,000,000 viewers worldwide and 
     more than 25,000,000 viewers in the United States, the 
     largest audience of any soccer game shown in the United 
     States on English language television;
       Whereas the members of the United States Women's National 
     Team are some of the

[[Page S2752]]

     most visible athletes in the world and serve as an 
     inspiration and as role models to young athletes across the 
     United States and worldwide;
       Whereas the members of the United States Women's National 
     Team, despite the international success of the members, are 
     consistently paid less than similarly situated members of the 
     United States Men's National Team for doing the same job, 
     regardless of the performance of the teams;
       Whereas a woman in 1963 was paid on average only 59 cents 
     for each dollar paid to a male counterpart;
       Whereas, in 1963, Congress passed and President Kennedy 
     signed the landmark Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 201 
     note; Public Law 88-38) (referred to in this preamble as the 
     ``Equal Pay Act''), unequivocally affirming that women 
     deserve equal pay for equal work;
       Whereas the enactment of the Equal Pay Act laid the 
     groundwork for title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
     U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) and title IX, which together vastly 
     expanded opportunities for girls and women at school and 
     work;
       Whereas the pay disparities suffered by the members of the 
     United States Women's National Team are reflective of the 
     reality of many women in the United States who, more than 50 
     years after the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, still make on 
     average only 79 cents for each dollar made by a male 
     counterpart;
       Whereas those pay disparities exist in both the private and 
     the public sectors and, in many instances, the pay 
     disparities can only be due to continued intentional 
     discrimination or the lingering effects of past 
     discrimination;
       Whereas unequal pay on the basis of gender tells women and 
     girls that, whether on the soccer field or in the office, the 
     hard work of the women or girls is not valued equally to that 
     of male counterparts;
       Whereas unequal pay on the basis of gender violates 
     generally held beliefs regarding equality and fundamental 
     fairness;
       Whereas the wage gap equals approximately $10,762 less per 
     year in median earnings for women and their families compared 
     to men;
       Whereas, compared to the earnings of white, non-Hispanic 
     men, women on average face a lifetime wage gap of $430,480, 
     African-American women on average face a lifetime wage gap of 
     $877,480, and Latinas on average face a lifetime wage gap of 
     $1,007,080; and
       Whereas unequal pay on the basis of gender threatens the 
     economic security of women and their families while the women 
     are in the workforce and the retirement security of women 
     after the women have left the workforce: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) urges the United States Soccer Federation to 
     immediately end gender pay inequity and to treat all athletes 
     with the respect and dignity those athletes deserve;
       (2) supports an end to pay discrimination based on gender 
     and the strengthening of equal pay protections; and
       (3) instructs the Secretary of the Senate to submit a copy 
     of this resolution to the United States Soccer Federation.

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