[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             EQUAL PAY DAY

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on Equal 
Pay Day to call for action to close that persistent wage gap that 
occurs in the workplace to the detriment of women.
  My grandmother worked all of her life. I would see her leave in the 
morning and go to the bus stop. She worked at a convalescent home where 
she made 3 meals a day for 170 people. She worked 6 days a week. On 
Saturday, she would make an extra meal so they could serve it on 
Sunday. On Sunday, she would take off work and go to church.
  When my grandmother could no longer stand on her feet, she retired. 
She retired on Social Security, which was $484 a month--just enough to 
live at my mom's home in her retirement. She had no savings and no 
pension. One of the reasons is because, even though women work very 
hard in this country, they don't get paid what their counterparts--the 
males--do. And so women are twice as likely to retire in poverty.
  When women succeed, America succeeds. And that is why I am a proud 
sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

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