[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8012]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT

  (Mrs. KIRKPATRICK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. KIRKPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, we are nearing the 50th anniversary of 
the Equal Pay Act, yet too many women continue to struggle. Too many 
women still don't receive equal pay for equal work.
  Fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, women 
still earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. That is not 
only wrong, it's bad for our economy.
  Working families often rely on two incomes, and more and more 
households have women as the primary source of income. That means 
women's take-home pay must cover the rent, the groceries, the doctor's 
visits. And when women succeed, our families succeed; so does our 
economy.
  I was proud to cast my first vote in Congress for the Lilly Ledbetter 
Fair Pay Act, which restored women's right to challenge unfair pay in 
court, but there's more work to do. Over the past 50 years, the Equal 
Pay Act has never been updated or strengthened. That's where the 
Paycheck Fairness Act comes in. It strengthens and closes loopholes in 
the law.
  So let's get this done and send an important message that work is 
work, no matter who is doing it. Let's pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.

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