[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3942-3943]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NATIONAL EQUAL PAY DAY

  Mr. LEAHY. The distinguished Senator from Nevada owes me no 
apologies. I am delighted to hear what he had to say and I agree with 
him.
  Mr. President, today we Vermonters and our neighbors, Americans 
across the country, are going to recognize Equal Pay Day, a day that 
shines a spotlight on the glaring pay disparity between men and women. 
The United States is often looked to as a leader in the global 
landscape, setting the gold standard for others to follow. 
Unfortunately, our country fails to lead when it comes to pay parity. 
American women continue to be treated unequally and unfairly in the 
workplace.
  On average, women are only paid 79 cents to every $1 paid to men. It 
is somewhat better in Vermont, but there is still a disparity of 83 
cents to a dollar. Over a career, this means a woman is compensated 
hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars less than a man 
with no other explanation for the disparity than their gender. This 
practice is unacceptable, and it runs contrary to American values.
  The fight for equal pay for equal work has spanned generations and 
continues to impact nearly every corner of our country. From corporate 
boardrooms to locally owned small businesses, women have long fought 
for their right to be treated with the same respect and dignity as 
their male counterparts.
  When I think of this fight, I think of Lilly Ledbetter, a person whom 
I greatly admire and consider a friend. She has changed the lives of 
millions of Americans with her courage to stand up for equal pay. It 
has been nearly 9 years since five Justices on the Supreme Court ruled, 
by just a one-vote majority, that her pay discrimination claim was 
invalid--not because of the facts. She had a good pay discrimination 
claim, but the narrow majority said she did not file a suit against her 
employer within the Federally mandated time period, even though the way 
the employer ran things, made it so she had no way of knowing she was 
being discriminated against at that time. I was proud to work with 
Senator Mikulski and others to overturn this injustice. We wrote and 
passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This important legislation 
clarified the statute of limitations for filing an equal pay lawsuit 
regarding pay discrimination. I was proud to stand with President Obama 
when he signed this into law, the very first law he signed as 
President.
  The progress achieved 7 years ago was important, but the fight for 
equal pay for equal work continues today. I am proud to cosponsor 
Senator Mikulski's Paycheck Fairness Act, an important bill to assure 
equal pay for equal work--a principle that people say they agree with 
but for too long has failed to be a reality.
  Today women from all over Vermont will assemble at the Vermont State

[[Page 3943]]

House. They will highlight the initiative known as Change the Story, 
which aims to improve the economic status of women in my State. They 
will note that while in Vermont women fare slightly better than the 
average around the country, at the current pace, the wage gap will not 
disappear before the year 2048. That is far too long for anybody to 
have to wait.
  I would also point out that in Vermont, women are twice as likely to 
live in poverty in their senior years, when their savings amount to 
only one-third of that of their male counterparts.
  Every year, Marcelle and I present the Vermont Women's Economic 
Opportunity Conference. For two decades, it has helped support women-
owned businesses. It encourages good-paying, nontraditional careers. 
But as we prepare to mark the 20th anniversary of the Women's Economic 
Opportunity Conference in June, I would much prefer if we could 
eliminate the need for such a conference. I look forward to the day 
when there is no gender wage gap and when career opportunities are 
available to all women, but until that day comes, Marcelle and I will 
continue to present that conference.
  Pay equality has recently received considerable attention at the 
international level. Why? In large part, due to the leadership of the 
U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. We can all recall the thrill last 
year when this team of world-class athletes won for a third time 
soccer's most coveted title, the FIFA World Cup.
  I remember, and I remember my children and my grandchildren watched 
that thrilling victory. It was the most widely viewed women's soccer 
game in our Nation's history. Like so many other Americans, men and 
women, I took pride in their historic win. But then fans from across 
the world were shocked to learn that members of the U.S. women's team 
received only $2 million for winning the 2015 Women's World Cup, while 
the men's 2014 World Cup champions were awarded $35 million.
  We were also astonished to learn that our 2015 world champion women's 
team received $7 million less than the U.S. men's team that lost in an 
early round of the men's 2014 World Cup. Even though this sports team 
made enormous amounts of money from the television rights, the women 
who earned those rights did not. They got paid less than the men who 
lost. They got paid less for winning than the men who lost.
  So, as a result of this alarming inequity, I introduced a Senate 
resolution calling on FIFA to eliminate its discriminatory prize award 
structure and to award all athletes with equal prizes. It was 
disappointing that not a single Republican was willing to cosponsor 
this resolution. When I tried to get it passed to support fairness for 
our champion women's team, when I tried to get this passed to say that 
we should treat women fairly--we should treat the women athletes the 
same as men athletes--Senate Republicans blocked it from going forward.
  As more Americans learn of this unfairness, I am hopeful that 
Senators will join me to support this passage and that Republicans will 
stop blocking it. Senators should not be afraid to be on record 
supporting equal pay for equal work for all athletes--in fact, equal 
pay for equal work for all women.
  Opponents of an equal prize award structure in sports have pointed to 
revenue as the reason behind this gross disparity. This is 
unacceptable. Tennis icons such as Billie Jean King and Venus Williams 
did not accept these arguments; instead, they fought for equal prize 
awards in the face of overwhelming adversity.
  Their impressive efforts led to equal prize awards at the U.S. Open 
Tennis championships and Wimbledon, which now provides all athletes, 
men and women, with the respect they deserve. So I am proud to stand in 
support of the U.S. Women's National Team in their fight for equal 
prize awards from FIFA and for equal treatment from the U.S. Soccer 
Federation.
  The disparities that exist in these organizations are outrageous. 
They should be remedied immediately. They should be arranged so that 
men and women are treated fairly and equally. While every Democrat has 
supported that, I hope Republicans will stop blocking it.
  As we reflect on the important meaning of Equal Pay Day, I would note 
that it is not just Republicans or Democrats--but all Americans across 
the country who should continue to join the growing movement to 
eliminate discrimination from the workplace. Hard-working women--our 
mothers, our sisters, our wives, our daughters, and our 
granddaughters--deserve no less.
  We should pass this resolution recognizing the achievement of the 
U.S. Women's National Team as the Women's World Cup champions. We 
should pass Senator Mikulski's Paycheck Fairness Act, which I have 
proudly cosponsored. We should take these simple and straightforward 
steps to guarantee pay equity protections against workplace 
discrimination. The time for equality is now. Let's be honest. Let's 
stand up and say: Both men and women should be treated equally.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, as my friend, the top Democrat on the 
Judiciary Committee, is leaving the floor, I want to thank him so much. 
I think the example of women's soccer is so perfect. People do not 
understand this disparity. Some say that many more people follow the 
women's soccer than the men's. I want to thank him for his leadership 
on that.
  I also want to say that when it comes to equal pay for equal work, 
you need to remember three numbers--just three numbers: 79 cents--that 
is one number. Remember that one and $11,000 and $400,000. OK. Remember 
79 cents, $11,000, and $400,000. And 79 cents on the dollar is what the 
average woman makes compared to the average man. So the man makes $1; 
the woman makes 79 cents for the same work.
  We are not talking about different jobs; we are talking about the 
same. It costs the average woman and her family $11,000 a year. When 
you add up that disparity, it is $11,000 a year. Think of what that 
could buy for a family. And $400,000-plus is what the penalty is for 
the average woman against the average man in a lifetime--$400,000. That 
could translate into a retirement that is not stressful.
  We are going to be here later today talking about this. The Mikulski 
bill will resolve a lot of these problems. I hope we can get the 
Republicans to help us.
  You know, this Senate has a rating of about 18-percent approval. 
Well, it is because people don't see us doing anything to help the 
average person. Most women work. We have not even raised the minimum 
wage. These Republicans fight for the wealthy few. That is the problem. 
We have given them a beautiful way to deal with it: Sign onto 
Mikulski's bill.

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