[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5282]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       SPEAKING FOR EQUAL PAY DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Clarke) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of women 
and men of New York's Ninth Congressional District on this, the 
anniversary of the signing of the Equal Pay Act by President John F. 
Kennedy.
  It has been 54 years since the Equal Pay Act was signed into law, yet 
women in the United States who work full-time, year-round, on average 
still only earn 80 cents for every dollar earned by men. This amounts 
to a yearly gap of $10,470 between full-time working men and women.
  For African-American women like myself, the pay gap is even larger. 
African-American women working full-time, year-round, on average still 
only earn 63 cents for every dollar earned by White, non-Hispanic men.
  In my own district, in Brooklyn, men earn $49,691, while women earn 
only $42,487. Mr. Speaker, that is just not acceptable.
  On Equal Pay Day 2017, we are calling upon Congressional Republicans 
to work with Democrats in getting the long overdue Paycheck Fairness 
Act enacted into law.
  Pay inequity not only affects women, it affects children and families 
and our national economy as a whole. That is because so many women in 
our country are the sole or co-bread winner in two-thirds of families 
with children. Families increasingly rely on women's wages to help make 
ends meet, and with less take-home pay, women have less for the 
everyday needs of their families: groceries, mortgages, rent, child 
care, and doctor visits.
  President Barack Obama signed several orders to address gaps in 
Federal equal pay protections, protecting segments of the civilian 
workforce from pay discrimination, despite congressional gridlock. 
Rather than working with Democrats to promote equal pay, House 
Republicans have voted nine times since 2013 to block the Paycheck 
Fairness Act from being considered on the House floor.
  So let's see whether Donald Trump, who claims he respects women more 
than anyone else, demonstrates through his deeds in real and 
substantive plans to do more to help working women and their families.
  Mr. Trump, it is time to put the money where your mouth is.

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