[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5578]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    WOMEN ARE CASUALTIES OF INACTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Al Green) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on the 
topic of casualties of inaction, casualties of inaction, Mr. Speaker, 
because there are some things that we can do if we would but only act. 
There are some circumstances that we can change if we would but only 
act. So today, I want to talk for just a moment about some of the 
casualties of inaction.
  Mr. Speaker, a recent report has indicated that women are casualties 
of inaction when it comes to their earning power in the United States 
of America, the greatest country in the world. Mr. Speaker, the report 
seems to indicate that women earn about 80 cents for every dollar a man 
earns--about 80 cents for every dollar a man earns.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an abomination. It is something that a great 
nation should not tolerate, and it is something that we can change if 
we but only have the willpower to do so.
  Women earn about $40,742 if they work year-round on a full-time job. 
Men earn about $51,212 working full-time, year-round. This is about 
$10,470 difference.
  Mr. Speaker, women should not be a casualty of $10,000-plus in their 
annual salaries. This is something we can change.
  But when we look closer at these numbers, Mr. Speaker, we realize 
that Asian women earn about 85 cents for every dollar a man earns, 
Black women earn about 63 cents for every dollar a man earns, and 
Latinas earn about 54 cents for ever dollar a man earns.
  Well, what does this really mean in terms of what they can do if they 
have the equality of opportunity to receive proper pay? Here is what it 
means:
  If this gender gap were eliminated, women would have enough money for 
approximately 15 more months of child care per year. So children are 
suffering. This inaction is impacting children. Children are casualties 
of our inaction.
  Women would have approximately 1.2 years of tuition and fees for a 4-
year public university, or they would have the full cost of tuition and 
fees for a 2-year community college--casualties of inaction.
  Women would have 78 more weeks of food for a family; so families, 
literally, can suffer from a lack of food. Food on the table is 
important in the richest country in the world. Women should not earn 
less such that their families would suffer.
  Women would have 7 more months of mortgage and utility payment.
  Women would have 11 more months of rent.
  Women should not find themselves making less than what men make in 
the richest country in the world, in a country where we have the 
technology, the know-how, and the ability to make a change. They should 
not have this circumstance.
  We can change this circumstance if we so desire. We but only have to 
have the will. The way is there to make sure women are treated equally 
in this great society.
  I believe, Mr. Speaker, that we ought to have task forces that are 
looking into this, not just for today or tomorrow, but to look into it 
until there is a solution that is available. Until we have the 
solution, we should not stop taking the action necessary to make a 
change in the lives of women.
  And finally, Mr. Speaker, we ought not allow the people who have made 
it possible for every man to breathe the breath of life to be treated 
unfairly, because every man alive owes his very existence to some woman 
who is willing to suffer the pains of labor so that we could breathe 
the breath of life.

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