[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5327]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             EQUAL PAY DAY

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Equal Pay Day. 
This day marks how far into this year that a woman must work to earn 
what a man earned up to December 31 of last year.
  In the United States, a woman is paid 20 percent less than her male 
counterpart. In California, a woman earns 86 percent of what men earn. 
Pay disparities in California are even more stark for women of color. 
Latinas make just 56 percent of what a man makes.
  In order to continue to close the pay gap, Congress must pass the 
Paycheck Fairness Act. That law would strengthen the Equal Pay Act by 
requiring employers to demonstrate that wage differences are not due to 
gender, and they would hold employers accountable for discriminatory 
actions.
  This bill, which I proudly cosponsored, is only one step forward. 
Congress must also pass legislation to address family leave and fight 
to protect a woman's right to choose, because, ultimately, the 
challenges and burdens women face are shared by all Americans, and when 
half of our citizenry is in any way impeded from their full potential, 
all of our country suffers.

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