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Equal Pay Day 2016

Floor Speech

Date: April 14, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Women Employment and Affirmative Action

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, April 12, 2016, our nation marked Equal Pay Day, a day that symbolizes when, now four months into the new year, women's wages finally catch up to what their male counterparts earned during the previous year.

On June 10th, 1963, President John F Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, which established the principle of equal pay for equal work for women in the workforce.

Yet, sadly, more than 50 years later, women on average earn 79 cents for every dollar earned by men.

African-American women fare even worse, earning only 64 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.

Today, families rely increasingly on women's wages to make ends meet, and with less take-home pay, women have less money to cover the everyday needs of their families.

In the spirit of Equal Pay Day 2016, I call upon Congressional Republicans to work with Democrats in getting the long-overdue Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 1619, enacted into law.

Mr. Speaker, When Women Succeed, America Succeeds and our economy succeeds.

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