Paycheck Fairness Act

Floor Speech

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, with the Senate expected to consider the Paycheck Fairness Act today, it is imperative that the House get serious about addressing pay inequality for working women across the United States. The House version of the Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 1519, seeks to achieve this pay equality and fairness by holding employers accountable for sex-based pay discrimination.

On average, women earn only seventy-seven cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, and that disparity can fluctuate even further across professions. For African American and Latina women, they are paid only 62 and 54 cents respectively for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. For countless families and single mothers trying to make ends meet, this wage disparity threatens their financial stability, and negatively impacts the livelihood of these women and their dependents.

The Paycheck Fairness Act is a commonsense piece of legislation that will ensure equal pay for all hardworking Americans. There is no basis for which pay discrimination should ever exist, and allowing this to continue undermines our Nation's economic recovery and our commitment to equality.

Mr. Speaker, fairness and equality are basic fundamentals that we must promote as a democratic Nation. Allowing pay discrimination on the basis of sex is not consistent with those principles, and I urge this Congress to take action against it. The Paycheck Fairness Act will provide a solid foundation on which we can build to promote fairness and equality in the workplace. As an original cosponsor of this important piece of legislation, I will continue to advocate for the rights of women all across the country.

Source