[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6752]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
WHEN WOMEN SUCCEED, AMERICA SUCCEEDS: AN ECONOMIC AGENDA FOR WOMEN AND 
                                FAMILIES

  (Ms. LEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the ``When Women 
Succeed, America Succeeds: An Economic Agenda for Women and Families.''
  Let me first thank Leader Pelosi, of course, and Representatives 
Matsui and Frankel for their unwavering dedication to our Democratic 
Women's Working Group and for women and families all across the 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, this agenda is about improving the future of our 
families and the economic security of all women. It is about increasing 
access to child care, retirement security, and equal pay for equal 
work. It is simply unacceptable in 2015 that women are still being paid 
78 cents for every dollar that a man makes. African American women and 
Latinas are being paid even less, at 64 cents and 56 cents 
respectively, despite doing the same work as men. This is wrong. It is 
an embarrassment.
  We must do more to advance the economic security of all women, like 
providing access to high quality and affordable child care. As a single 
mother who raised two amazing boys, I know what it is like to struggle 
to make ends meet. When I was a student at Mills College in Oakland, 
California, oftentimes I took my sons to class with me because I could 
not afford child care. Now, that was in the day. This is 2015, and 
women deserve better. So let's support this agenda and lift women up. 
When women succeed, America succeeds.

                          ____________________