[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2229-2230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       EQUAL PAY ACT ANNIVERSARY

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I come to the floor to recognize 
an important anniversary. Five years ago today, President Obama signed 
the Lilly Ledbetter Act into law. This important law has kept 
courthouse doors open to allow women to address pay inequality by 
correcting a misinterpretation by the Court on the statute of 
limitations when women seek redress. But the fight for equal pay 
continues, and we need to take action to fix the pay gap, which is what 
I want to discuss today.
  On June 10, 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into 
law. This landmark legislation prohibited discrimination on the basis 
of sex in the payment of wages by employers. The goals of the 
legislation were groundbreaking. It was the first time Congress acted 
on this issue, addressing what was a real and growing problem as more 
women entered the workforce. But it has been over 50 years since the 
Equal Pay Act became law, and since then, a lot of things have changed.
  A recent Pew Research study found that women are the primary earner 
in 40 percent of households today. Additionally, many of these women 
are the sole earners. But what is often missed in the discussion about 
equal pay is the impact the pay gap continues to have on these 
households who are dependent on the salaries of women.
  The pay gap results in $4,000 less per year for working families, and 
$434,000 less over a lifetime. Imagine what these families could 
accomplish if they simply got what they were owed. With the rising 
costs for child care, medical care, and filling up the family car, 
these families are held down by unfair and unjust pay policies.
  While these are the day-to-day impacts of the pay gap, there are also 
even greater consequences over a lifetime. The pay gap affects your 
income, your pension, and your Social Security. Women's Social Security 
benefits are only 71 percent of men's benefits. The average income for 
women from private pensions is only 48 percent of men's. The 
consequences of our inaction on pay equity are following women out of 
the workplace and further impacting their lives down the line.
  For years I have fought for a solution to this--the Paycheck Fairness 
Act. The Paycheck Fairness Act builds on the Equal Pay Act to help 
close the pay gap. Under the Paycheck Fairness Act, employers will no 
longer be able to retaliate against workers for sharing information 
about wages. Right now, if you ask someone what they get paid you can 
get fired. For years, Lilly Ledbetter was humiliated and harassed 
because she tried to find out what she was making compared to her 
colleagues. Women will also no longer be able to only seek back pay 
when they are discriminated against. Under this legislation they are 
also able to seek punitive damages.
  Under the Paycheck Fairness Act, employers will no longer be able to 
use almost any reason imaginable to justify paying a woman less than a 
man. And under this legislation, women will no longer be on their own 
in fighting for equal pay for equal work. This bill

[[Page 2230]]

includes education and training so women can strengthen their 
negotiation skills and learn about wage discrimination.
  In this country, they say: Work hard, play by the rules, and you will 
get ahead. We work hard every day but we find the rules are different 
for women and men. In 1963, women made 59 cents for every $1 made by 
men. And more than 50 years later, we have made an 18-cent gain. In 
2012, women made 77 cents for every $1 earned by men. Fifty-two years 
and 18 cents--that is not rewarding hard work, and it is certainly not 
playing by the rules.
  Today, on the 5th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Act, I call on 
my colleagues to join me in stepping up to the plate and fixing the pay 
gap by supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act. Let's end pay inequity and 
end the policies that keep women uneducated and unequipped to fight for 
their fair share.
  It is not just for our pocketbooks--it is about the family checkbooks 
and getting it right in the law books. It is also about the generations 
of women to come. Let's finish what we started, and let's make sure it 
doesn't take another 50 years to end pay inequity.

                          ____________________