Paycheck Fairness Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act, sponsored by Representative Rosa L. DeLauro. H.R. 1338 amends the Equal Pay Act, one of the primary laws addressing pay discrimination. Since becoming law, loopholes and weak remedies have made the Equal Pay Act less effective in combating wage discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act, strengthens and improves the effectiveness of the Equal Pay Act.

There should be little doubt that such improvements are necessary. More than four decades after the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts, a wage disparity that cannot be explained by differences in qualifications, education, skills, training, responsibility, or life choices. Rather, in many cases, the pay differential has resulted from unlawful sex discrimination.

The consequences of this discrimination are severe and predictable. The pay disparity forces single-mother households and families dependent on two wage earners to live on less than they rightfully deserve, while simultaneously reducing women's retirement earnings. In short, unfair pay disparities perpetuate women's economic dependence and deprive them of economic opportunity and equal protection of the laws.

The Paycheck Fairness Act provides for compensatory and punitive damages only ``as appropriate,'' with no further limitation or arbitrary cap being necessary. The modest provisions for compensatory and punitive damages in the Paycheck Fairness Act bring remedies for victims of sex-based wage discrimination in line with those available for victims of wage discrimination based on race and national origin.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Miller, and Subcommittee Chairwoman Woolsey and Congresswoman DeLauro for championing this important wage discrimination legislation.

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