[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12862]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          EXPRESSING THE SUPPORT OF THE PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support of the 
Paycheck Fairness Act introduced by Congresswoman Rosa DeLaro on March 
6, 2007.
  The first step towards the achievement of equal pay for women was 
made with the passage and signing of the Equal Pay Act by President 
John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963. President Kennedy understood the 
importance of addressing the ``unconscionable practice of paying female 
employees less wages than male employees for the same job.'' As a 
result of the enacting the Equal Pay Act, the wage gap between women 
and men has shrunken significantly. At the time the Equal Pay Act was 
signed, women's average wage was roughly a half of what men earned. At 
the present time, women earn around \3/4\ of the wage paid to men. 
Undoubtedly, the gap is narrowing consistently, but the rate of such 
improvement is quite slow. The inequality of payments between women and 
men not only affects American families, but also American society and 
the American economy. Despite the fact that the enforcement of the 
Equal Pay Act and many other civil rights laws contributed to narrow 
the wage gap, many important disparities remain and need to be 
addressed. The enactment of the Paycheck Fairness Act creates the 
opportunity for the Federal government to be more active in preventing 
and fighting wage discrimination.
  I hope that many Americans understand how crucial it is to have equal 
workplaces with equal opportunities for workers and equal pay for 
comparable jobs, regardless of gender. The American government should 
take firm actions in delivering concrete steps proposed by the Paycheck 
Fairness Act in narrowing the unequal wage gap.

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