Mikulski, Senate Democrats Along with Advocacy Groups Urge Passage of Paycheck Fairness Act

Press Release

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Dean of the Senate women and a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today at the U.S. Capitol was joined at a press conference by U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) along with representatives of the National Partnership for Women & Families, American Association of University Women (AAUW), National Women's Law Center (NWLC), MomsRising and Equal Pay Today.

They renewed their call urging Congress to take up and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation introduced by Senator Mikulski which will help close the wage gap between women and men working equivalent jobs, costing women and their families $430,480 over their careers.

"Middle class families need a raise in the family checkbook. Seven years ago we made a down payment towards equal pay by passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to keep the courthouse doors open. I'm fighting to finish the job by stopping wage discrimination from happening in the first place," Senator Mikulski said. "Equal pay is not just for our pocketbooks, it's about family checkbooks and getting it right in the law books. The Paycheck Fairness Act ensures that women will no longer be sidelined, redlined or pink slipped when fighting for equal pay for equal work."

While women still make on average 79 cents to every dollar made by a male, the Paycheck Fairness Act builds on the promise of the Equal Pay Act, passed more than 50 years ago on June 10, 1963. It helps close the pay gap by empowering women to negotiate for equal pay, closing loopholes courts have created in the law, creating strong incentives for employers to obey the laws and strengthening federal outreach and enforcement efforts.

The legislation would require employers to demonstrate that wage gaps between men and women doing the same work have a business justification and are truly a result of factors other than gender. The bill would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would also strengthen the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) ability to help women achieve pay equity by requiring DOL to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities and to continue to collect and disseminate wage information based on gender. The bill would also create a competitive grant program to provide negotiation skills training programs for girls and women.

"In the 21st century, we should be able to agree that workers should be paid fairly for the work they do, regardless of their gender," Senator Patty Murray said. "Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act to help close the wage gap is absolutely critical to building on women's success in today's economy, and is a critical piece of our work to grow the economy from the middle out, not the top down."

"Nobody should be paid less just for being a woman," said Senator Boxer. "The Paycheck Fairness Act would help us close the wage gap, and would strengthen our economy and our families for generations to come. This bill is the smart thing to do and the right thing to do, and I urge my colleagues to pass it now."

"It's outrageous that a mechanical engineer from Houghton, MI makes less than the men she supervises," said Senator Stabenow (D-MI). "It's long past time that we pass the Paycheck Fairness Act so women and their families have a fair shot to get ahead."

"In Washington state, a typical woman working full time earns $41,000 a year. A man working that same job earns $53,000 a year -- a $12,000 difference. That means less money to put food on the table. It means less money to pay for rent, or children's clothing or health insurance premiums, or even saving for retirement," Senator Cantwell said. "Whether women are educators or business women or athletes on the soccer field -- women deserve to be on a level playing field. That's why we must pass the Paycheck Fairness Act."

"A gap in pay during a woman's working years leads to an even bigger shortfall in retirement," said Klobuchar. "The pay gap during women's careers leads to a gap in retirement, with women age 65 and older having roughly $11,000 less in average annual income in retirement than men. This is not fair but it is fixable. Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act and other policies to help close the pay gap is important for women and their families, and it's also critical to boost our entire economy."

"It's unacceptable that after another whole year, we are still talking about the fact that men and women are not paid equally for the same work," said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. "More women than ever before are earning their family's paycheck, and without equal pay, the families of these hardworking women will continue to be shortchanged. We have to keep raising our voices about this issue until we finally have equal pay in America."

"Closing the gender pay gap would mean that Hawaii women and families could afford nearly five months more of rent or nearly a year's worth of groceries. Equal pay isn't just a women's issue. Failure to ensure equal pay for equal work is a major barrier to economic success and growing the middle class. As we approach yet another Equal Pay Day, I'm proud to stand with my colleagues to continue the fight to close the gender pay gap." -Senator Mazie K. Hirono

"How a nation treats its women -- economically and socially--is a sign of that nation's success. The wage disparity between American men and women is hurting our nation," said Senator Ben Cardin. "If the gender wage gap were closed in Maryland, and in states around the country, it would cut the poverty rate for working women in half and add nearly a half trillion dollars to our economy. Economically, socially, and morally--any way you slice it, closing the wage gap makes sense for individual women, their families and our nation."

"When women earn equal pay for equal work, our families, communities, and economy are stronger," said Sen. Franken, top Democrat on the Workplace and Employment Subcommittee. "But right now, women make an average of ten thousand dollars less per year than men. That's money Minnesota families don't have to pay their rent or mortgage, afford child care, buy groceries, or to save in a college fund. Nobody should be denied equal pay for equal work, which is why we need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act into law."