[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 411]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT AND THE PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT

  (Ms. TSONGAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for two 
important bills that we will consider later today. The Lilly Ledbetter 
Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act both advance the fight to 
ensure equal pay for women in the workforce
  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women make 78 cents for every 
dollar earned for similar work by their male counterparts. This form of 
discrimination is unacceptable, and it not just a women's issue, it is 
a family issue. The Institute of Women's Policy Research found that 
this wage disparity will cost an individual woman anywhere from 
$400,000 to $2 million over a lifetime in lost wages. We can easily 
imagine the impact on a woman's life, as well as her children's.
  I am proud to support these important measures which make the 
American promise of opportunity more accessible to women and to their 
families.

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