[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5326]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             EQUAL PAY DAY

  (Ms. McSALLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. McSALLY. Mr. Speaker, since the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 
1963, it has been illegal for an employer to pay a woman less than a 
man for the same work. But the unfortunate reality is that today, over 
50 years later, women are still making less than men, and that is 
unacceptable.
  Labor Department statistics cite, when comparing median salaries for 
all annual full-time jobs, women are making 81 cents on the dollar 
compared to men. Some of this is from blatant bias and discrimination, 
which is illegal and unacceptable. But most of the pay gap comes from 
factors like women going into lower-paying career fields; seeking 
flexibility since they are still primary caregivers for children and, 
increasingly, parents; or not being able to afford child care.
  Here in the House, I am working on putting forward ideas and 
solutions to empower women to close this pay gap. Last year I joined my 
colleagues to create and lead a Working Group on Women in the 21st 
century workforce. It is examining the challenges women still face and 
working to expand equal opportunity and improve outcomes for all women.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been fighting for women my whole life. I know we 
still have work to do, and I am committed to making equal opportunity 
for women a reality. After all, this is America and we pick the best 
man for the job, even if she is a woman, and that means making sure she 
is getting paid what she deserves.

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