[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6796]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     SUPPORT FOR FAIR PAY FOR WOMEN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 23, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support fair pay for 
women.
  Women are an integral and vital part of the United States workforce. 
However, there exists a wage gap between men and women. Forty-one 
percent of women are the sole breadwinners in their families. April 22, 
2008 is Equal Pay Day, which highlights the need for equal pay for 
American women. Equal Pay Day began in 1996 as a public awareness event 
by the Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE). The purpose of this day is to 
illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages. Equal Pay Day is 
observed on a Tuesday in April to represent how far into the year a 
woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the 
previous year.
  It is preposterous that, in 2008, women earn less money than men for 
doing the same work. This wage gap is even greater for women of color. 
In this age of rising fuel costs, which impact what we pay for food, 
clothing, utilities, etc., women should receive the same pay as their 
male counterparts for doing the same job. In 2006, women earned 77 
cents to the dollar. However, when women shop at the supermarket, they 
do not receive a 23-percent discount on food nor do they receive a 
discount on their utilities, medical care copayments or any other of 
life's necessities.
  Something must be done to close this gap. I support the Lilly 
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 and hope my Senate colleagues will 
support equal pay for all American women.

                          ____________________