[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6860-6861]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            NATIONAL TAKE YOUR DAUGHTER AND SON TO WORK DAY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, April 24 is Take Your Daughters and Sons 
to Work Day, which is a great opportunity for people who are in a 
position to do so to give their kids a better idea of what they do for 
a living. In my office, we had a short social time this morning to 
allow the children of staff members to gather and talk about their 
experience. Participation in Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day 
can be fun for the parents and the children. But at its heart, this day 
is a part of a broad effort to reach pay equity for women.
  On Tuesday, we marked Equal Pay Day, the point in 2008 when the 
average woman's wages finally catch up with what the average man earned 
in 2007. The numbers are sobering.
  Equal pay has been the law since 1963. But today, 45 years later, 
women are still paid less than men--even when women have similar 
education, skills, and experience. While women's wages have risen in 
all States, in inflation-adjusted dollars, since 1989, the typical 
full-time woman worker does not make as much as the typical man in any 
State. At the present rate of progress, it will take 50 years to close 
the wage gap nationwide.
  In 2007, women were paid 77 cents for every dollar men received. That 
is $23 less for every $100 worth of work women do--$23 less to spend on 
groceries, housing, child care, and other expenses. Nationwide, working 
families lose $200 billion of income annually to the wage gap.
  Over a lifetime of work, the 23 cents on the dollar women are losing 
adds up. The average 25-year-old working woman will lose more than 
$523,000 to unequal pay during her working life. These figures are even 
worse for women of color. And because women are paid less now, they 
have less money to set aside for retirement, and they will earn lower 
pensions than men.
  Part of the motivation behind Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work 
Day is to expose children of both genders to professional fields that 
historically have been dominated by men. This day is one of many 
initiatives developed to encourage girls and young women in their 
education and professional journeys. Professional and student 
organizations, such as the Society of Women Engineers, offer a support 
network for those young women who are making their mark in professions 
that historically have not seen many women.
  Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day can help both girls and boys 
see the career opportunities that may be open to them if they stay in 
school, set goals, and study. I commend the employers and employees who 
are able to participate today. I would also like to congratulate and 
encourage the children who are sizing up options for their future 
careers. Let us keep in mind today that we need to keep working to 
enable every child to achieve his or her full potential, and we need to 
ensure that women are fully and fairly compensated for all the work 
they do.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I rise in honor of today's Take Our 
Daughters and Sons to Work Day when, over the past 15 years, 
individuals, families and workplaces have joined in expanding 
opportunities and transforming the

[[Page 6861]]

lives of millions of girls and boys both nationally and 
internationally. I want to take this opportunity to discuss the 
importance of family in creating an active and resourceful citizenship 
and workforce for the future. As our Nation continues in its historical 
role as a melting pot, the importance of international adoption in the 
fabric of American families continues to grow. Mr. Paul Hanly Furfey 
stated that ``The first, the most fundamental right of childhood is the 
right to be loved. The child comes into the world alone, defenseless, 
without resource. Only love can stand between his helplessness and the 
savagery of a harsh world.'' Families created or expanded by 
international adoption are unique and special, open to cultural 
differences and sharing in the common elements of mankind, compassion 
and love.
  The United Nations Population Division gathered data from more than 
100 countries and found that in a world of 2.2 billion children under 
the age of 18, fewer than 12 per 100,000 are being adopted. In other 
words, in a total global population of 6.5 billion, there are only 
about 260,000 adoptions of all kinds annually including those within 
countries, across borders and of step children. In the United States we 
have seen an upward trend in international adoptions from 7,083 in 1990 
to 17,718 in 2000 and over 20,000 international adoptions in 2007.
  I have received several letters of concern from many Arkansans 
inquiring as to what the U.S. Government is doing to help these 
children find their way to loving homes in Arkansas. In fact, the 
United States has taken several important steps to protect the rights 
of the child and to assist families in the international adoption 
process. From a global level, the Convention on Protection of Children 
and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption--Hague Adoption 
Convention--a broad multilateral treaty, was signed by the United 
States in March of 1994. In 2000, the Senate and the House passed the 
Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to implement the Convention. In 2006, 
the Department of State issued the final rule on the Accreditation and 
Approval of Agencies and Persons to implement the Convention and the 
Intercountry Adoption Act.
  Legislation to help adoptive families pay for expenses associated 
with adoption procedures was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 
to make improvements to the Internal Revenue Code to add a two-part 
adoption assistance tax relief program. The tax relief for adoption 
expenses has helped many families to be able to afford the financial 
costs of the actual adoption process. The Department of Homeland 
Security now issues immigrant visas to children entering the United 
States with adoptive parents who are U.S. citizens under the I-800 Visa 
Program, making them U.S. citizens when they reach U.S. soil.
  On my part, I have signed several letters to international leaders 
concerning the importance of transparency in the adoption process in 
all countries, particularly in the signatories of the Hague Adoption 
Convention.
  Our recognition of today's Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day 
provides us with a great opportunity to recognize the unique role and 
contributions of adoptive families in our country. Families created 
through adoption are special. They go through so much time and energy 
to find each other. We must celebrate these families who through 
perseverance and determination become whole and provide a loving 
environment for our next generation.

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