DeLauro Statement on the Paycheck Fairness Act

Press Release

During consideration of the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338), Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) delivered the following statement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation, which DeLauro first introduced in 1997, is aimed at closing the wage gap between men and women.

Below is the text of the remarks (as prepared for delivery).

Thank you. I want to thank Chairman Miller for his dedication to this cause - we never could have come this far without his tenacious leadership.

Mr. Speaker, The Paycheck Fairness Act is about valuing the work that women do in our society. One of our nation's most enduring principles - one of our greatest aspirations - has been ensuring equality of opportunity for all. There is no more important American promise that allows us to be a country of dreams and success. Today, we can take another important step toward finally honoring that promise.

I also want to thank Speaker Pelosi whose leadership today continues to build on the legacy of those who preceded us - those pioneers at Seneca Falls - as well as the women who blazed a path in the House of Representatives, Jeanette Rankin, Mary Norton. Even President Kennedy's Equal Pay Act grew out of the Commission on the Status of Women, lead by Eleanor Roosevelt. Forty-five years later our Speaker has celebrated that history by making this movement an absolute priority. Her message has been clear: It is time to stand up for working women and their families.

Well, Mr. Speaker, we can do that today by supporting The Paycheck Fairness Act - re-asserting the principle that women and men should be paid the same when doing the same work, and making it real by allowing female employees to sue for compensatory and punitive damages. It does so without imposing the arbitrary caps women face under Title VII. It protects employees from retaliation for sharing salary information with their co-workers, with some exemptions. And it establishes a grant initiative to provide negotiation skills training programs for girls and women.

Let me also be clear about what this bill does not do. It does not eliminate key employer defenses against claims of discrimination. The bill simply makes clear that when an employer states that its pay scale is informed by a ‘"factor other than sex," that must actually be true, and not just an excuse to continue discriminatory practices. HR 1338 merely restores Congress's intent, which has been undermined by court interpretations over the years allowing employers to escape liability in cases in which their decisions were, in fact, based on sex. Finally, H.R. 1338 does not refer to or includes provisions on comparable worth. Nothing in this bill would allow comparisons of jobs that are dissimilar but equivalent.

Some will have you believe that the wage gap for women is a myth, that we already have laws in place to make pay discrimination on the basis of gender illegal. But just because something is illegal, does not mean that it does not continue to happen. According to the Department of Labor, women still earn only 77 percent of what men earn.

Opponents insist that this figure does not take into account education and experience. But the truth is: that gap barely closes among women with college degrees. Recent research by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) found that just one year after college graduation, women earn only 80% of what their male counterparts earn. Ten years after college graduation, women fall further behind, earning only 69 % of what men earn. So, what is the message? No matter how advanced their degree or how hard they work, women will not be compensated fairly.

The marketplace alone will not correct this injustice - we need a solution in law - just as our country has done in the past to bring down discriminatory barriers. Others will insist that we cannot open the door for increased litigation. But, in the light of day it is clear that the current system is rife with loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay scales.

We all know Lilly Ledbetter's story - for so many years, she was shortchanged by her employer. And years later, she was shortchanged again, by the Supreme Court ruling 5 to 4 against her discrimination claim - drastically limiting women's access to seek justice for pay discrimination based on gender.

We have an obligation to ensure this does not go on any longer. And we must begin today by toughening remedies in the Equal Pay Act to give America 's working women the opportunity to fight against wage discrimination and receive the paycheck they have earned. No one should be forced to consider a trade-off between a full wage, a family life, and a good job.

My colleagues on both sides of the aisle - we are so fortunate to come to work everyday in this extraordinary institution - from different regions of the country with different backgrounds and different experiences - but men and women, we are paid equally. Every woman in this country deserves the same. Every family deserves to know that this institution will act today to make it real.

It is about ensuring that women who work hard and productively and carry a full range of family responsibilities are paid at a rate they are entitled.

I urge my colleagues to support the Paycheck Fairness Act. We should not underestimate the power of a big idea whose time has come. So many employers and companies do the right thing as a matter of course, but passing this bill today says that this is now a matter of right and wrong, that discrimination is unacceptable anywhere and we are all diminished when we fall short. But today, we have the chance to make all men and women whole and contribute to the richness of America .

In 1963 President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, saying that it would: "Add to our laws another structure basic to democracy" and "affirm our determination that when women enter the labor force they will find equality in their pay envelope."

Today, we have another opportunity to make good on that promise. Those days come only a few times in our tenure in the U.S. Congress. I have always been proud to serve in this institution and revere those lawmakers before us who on previous days took a stand for health care for the elderly or the Civil Rights Act or the Family and Medical Leave Act - and made such an impact on people's lives. That is the whole reason we are here.

And it is my hope today that the House passes this law and makes history for our country. Thank you.

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