Rep. Cárdenas Calls for Action on Equal Pay Day

Press Release

U.S. Representative Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) issued the following statement on Equal Pay Day and the continued fight to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1619; S. 862):

"Unless something changes, the gender pay gap will not be closed for at least 43 years. By age 65, the average woman will have lost $430,480 throughout her working life-time as a result of this pay gap. We can no longer wait. Congress must work together to ensure we close the pay gap so that we can increase spending by households and generate more economic growth.

"On March 25, 2015, my peers Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) re-introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act in the 114th Congress. All 193 Members of the House Democratic Caucus are cosponsors of the bill. What's holding us back from providing women with the pay they deserve are House Republicans who have voted nine times since 2013 to block the Paycheck Fairness Act from being considered on the House Floor. That is unacceptable.

"According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, women won't see pay equity with men until 2058 if we continue at our current pace. That's 42 long years from now. Women have not yet reached pay parity in any of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. Considering that more than 55 percent of married women work outside the home and almost 40 percent of them are their family's primary wage earner, we have to do better.

"The pay gap is even wider for minority women. African American women earn only 60 cents and Latinas earn only 55 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

"We're talking about more than just eliminating unjust discrimination. This is about providing hard-working women with the pay they deserve, not the pay someone objectively thinks they should make.

"I am proud to support the Paycheck Fairness Act and look forward to working with my colleagues in the rest of the House to passing this bill and implementing it in the San Fernando Valley.

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