[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4825]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             EQUAL PAY DAY

  (Ms. EDWARDS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Equal Pay 
Day. It's the day in 2013 when women finally earn what their male peers 
did in 2012. Put another way, women work 15\1/2\ months to make what a 
man makes in 12.
  Fifty years ago, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law. 
Yet half a century later, women still earn only 77 cents to the dollar 
compared to their male peers. These gaps are even wider for women of 
color. African American women earn just 64 cents and Latinas earn 55 
cents for every dollar.
  Sadly, not a single State or major metropolitan area has eliminated 
the wage gap. In Maryland, the National Partnership for Women and 
Families found that women who are employed full time lose $7.8 billion 
each year due to this wage gap.
  We passed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 4 years ago to restore the 
right of women to challenge unfair pay in court, but here the gap 
persists. We must pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to strengthen the 
Equal Pay Act and help gender-based discrimination end once and for 
all.
  We all benefit when women earn equal pay. Closing the wage gap must 
be an integral part of strengthening America's working families and our 
economy.

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