Providing for Consideration of S. 181, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF S. 181, LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - January 27, 2009)

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Mr. McGOVERN. I thank my colleague for yielding to me, and I welcome her to the Rules Committee. This is going to be an exciting year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This is a great day, this is an important day, because at long last we have a Congress and a President of the United States who not only believes in equal pay for equal work, but are willing to stand up and fight for equal pay for equal work.

Mr. Speaker, last year, we passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. We sent it to the United States Senate, and the Republicans in the United States Senate led a filibuster to block progress on this bill. And if we could overcome that filibuster, we have got a President of the United States named George Bush who said he would veto the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Well, times have changed. We passed the bill again here in the House by a large margin, the Senate has passed it, and we are now accepting the Senate version.

My colleague from Florida says, well, what harm is it to open all this up again? The harm is, if you add or change this bill that we are voting on today, it will go back to the United States Senate; it will delay this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, discrimination is wrong in any form, discrimination in the workplace. Paying a woman less than a man for equal work is wrong. It is something that is intolerable. And the important thing about this bill is it will move us closer to equality in the workforce. We still have a long way to go.

Mr. Speaker, on average, women earn just 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The Institute of Women's Policy Research has found that this wage disparity costs women anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million in lost wages over a lifetime. And equal pay, Mr. Speaker, is not simply a women's issue; it is a family issue.

People should be paid for the quality of their work. They should not be discriminated against because of their gender. This vote is about ending discrimination. It is not about process, it is not about anything else. It is about whether at long last the United States Congress and the President of the United States are going to stand up for equal pay for equal work, and I think that this is an important step in the right direction.

I want to congratulate George Miller, the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, as well as Rob Andrews, my colleague, for his incredible work on this. But we have waited long enough. George Bush and the Republicans have thrown enough roadblocks in our way. We have removed them. We are moving forward. We are moving toward equality. We are moving to end discrimination. And I am proud to stand on the floor and support the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

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