Paycheck Fairness Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. SHERRILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the motion to recommit offered by the gentlewoman from North Carolina.

There are few things that define us as a country more distinctly than the idea of the American Dream: the idea that anyone can make it here through hard work and dedication. That dream rests on giving people a fair shot.

Right now, too many people in this country just aren't getting a fair shot, and women in this country face additional barriers because they simply are not paid equally for their work.

Madam Speaker, this bill, H.R. 7, supports paycheck fairness because equal pay for equal work is about respect, and in New Jersey we know respect. I know what paycheck fairness looks like because we just passed it in New Jersey. It is high time that Congress ensures these commonsense values for the rest of the women across this country.

I have listened to objections raised today that women already have protections for equal pay. Well, let me assure you that the protections in our laws are not adequate.

I rise today, Madam Speaker, for women who are earning just 80 cents on every dollar. I rise for our African American women who are only earning 61 cents on the dollar. I rise today for Hispanic women who are only earning 53 cents on the dollar.

Madam Speaker, I rise today for American women and for their families so we can give them a fair shot, like a woman in my district who, despite being a single mom helping to pay off her children's college debt, was passed over for a raise because her male coworker had a family to support, or another who found that she was being paid less than her male coworkers after years of performing the same job and with the same seniority. And, Madam Speaker, I am fighting today for my two daughters so they have the same opportunities and the same rights as my two sons.

In the House, we know what our coworkers are making. We can look it up. We need our constituents to have that same opportunity.

Madam Speaker, I have joined my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in the past on their motions. I believe deeply in the need for this body to come together today to focus on issues that matter to our families. It is time for my colleagues to now join me, because supporting women, supporting families, and supporting the American Dream is a shared value.

I know in New Jersey the equal pay bill passed with broad bipartisan support. In fact, in the entire State senate and assembly, there were only two people who voted against it.

If there were ever a moment, if there were ever a bill, if there were ever a time to put obstruction aside, it is now. The motion put forth has nothing to do with equal pay, and I urge my colleagues to reject it.

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