Paycheck Fairness Act -- Motion to Proceed -- Continued

Floor Speech

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Madam President, I want to start by expressing my deep thanks and appreciation to Senator Mikulski for her tremendous leadership in the fight for equal pay and for bringing the Paycheck Fairness Act to the forefront of the debate this session.

The role of women in our families and in our economy has really shifted dramatically over the last few decades. Today 60 percent of families rely on earnings from both parents. That is up from 37 percent in 1975--60 percent. Women today make up nearly half the workforce, and more than ever women are likely to be the primary breadwinner in their families. Women are making a difference in our economy, in board rooms, lecture halls and small businesses.

But despite the important progress we have made since the Equal Pay Act passed now 50 years ago, including passing the Lilly Ledbetter Act in 2009--thanks again to Senator Mikulski--giving women more tools to fight against pay discrimination, women's wages have not caught up with the times. Across the country today women still earn 77 cents on the dollar, on average, to do the exact same work as men. It would take a typical woman until today to earn what a man would earn doing the same work in 2013.

That difference really adds up. In Seattle, in my home State, last year women earned 73 cents on the dollar--73 cents on the dollar--compared to their male counterparts. That translated to a yearly gap of $16,346. Nationwide, over a typical woman's lifetime, pay discrimination amounts to $464,320 in lost wages. That is not only unfair to women, it is bad for our families, and it is bad for our economy.

At a time when more and more families rely on women's wages to put food on the table or stay in their homes or build a nest egg for retirement or help pay for their children's education, it is absolutely critical we do more to eliminate pay discrimination and unfairness in the workplace. The Paycheck Fairness Act would tackle pay discrimination head on. It would ramp up enforcement of equal pay laws and strengthen assistance to businesses to improve equal pay practices. I hope we can all agree that 21st century workers should be compensated based on how they do their job, not whether they are male or female.

I hope to be able to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act as quickly as possible for working women and their families in this country, but we can't stop there. We need to build then on these critical reforms with other steps toward giving women a better and a fairer shot at getting ahead. One out of four women in the United States today would benefit from raising the minimum wage. That is 15 million American women who are making the equivalent of about 2 gallons of gas per hour. It is clearly time to raise the minimum wage and give working women in the country some much deserved relief.

There are other ways we can, and should be, updating our policies to help working women and their families make ends meet. For example, thanks to our outdated Tax Code, a woman who is thinking about reentering the workforce as the second earner in her family is likely going to face higher tax rates than her husband. That would come in addition to increased costs that she would then have with child care and transportation and the possibility of losing tax credits and other benefits as her household income rises. All of this means struggling families will experience higher tax rates than what many of the wealthiest Americans pay. This can discourage a potential second earner, such as a mom who is talking about reentering the workforce and returning to her professional career.

I recently introduced the 21st Century Worker Tax Cut Act, which would help solve this problem by giving struggling two-earner families with children a tax deduction on the second earner's income. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that change alone would cut taxes by an average of $700 for 7.3 million families next year.

The 21st Century Worker Tax Cut Act would also expand the EITC for childless workers and lower the eligibility age so that people without dependents and young workers just starting out can benefit from the credit.

By the way, this has bipartisan support. It builds on work incentives from the EITC and is paid for by getting rid of wasteful corporate tax loopholes that both Ways and Means Chairman Camp and Democrats agree ought to be closed.

Opinion leaders from across the political spectrum have said this bill would provide much-needed relief to workers and families. One conservative commentator wrote in the National Review that the 21st Century Worker Tax Cut Act is ``a serious proposal that has the potential to better the lives of a large number of workers.'' A New York Times editorial columnist says it would be ``a huge benefit to low-income childless families and two-earner families.''

So I am hopeful that here in Congress we will see similar support on both sides of the aisle for a bill that would help women and working families keep more of what they earn.

We have come a long way in terms of the opportunities women have in our country today, but there is no question we have a lot more work to do. If we take these steps I have talked about, and that others here are talking about, we will do much to break down the very real barriers that still exist today. We will help working women and their families, we will strengthen our economy, and we will expand opportunity for the next generation of women who enter the workforce.

So I am here today to urge my colleagues to support the Paycheck Fairness Act and then build on that step by continuing to help level the playing field for American women and their families.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

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Mr. President, last October families and communities across our country were forced to endure a completely unnecessary government shutdown. Coming after years of budget uncertainty and constant crises, the shutdown hurt our workers and threatened our fragile economic recovery. It shook the confidence of people across the country who expected their elected officials to come together to avoid such a needless and self-inflicted crisis. It was a dark time here in Congress. I think many of my colleagues regret letting the tea party minority push us into that.

When the shutdown finally ended, I sat down with House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan in a budget conference that many of us had been trying to start for months. We worked through the issues. We compromised. We reached a 2-year budget deal that rolled back the devastating cuts from sequestration. We prevented another government shutdown and restored much needed certainty to the budget process.

That budget deal was a strong step in the right direction, but it was not the only step Congress needs to take to create jobs and economic growth. It was not the only step we need to take to ensure that we do not lurch to another avoidable crisis because if Congress does not act, we are headed toward another crisis in just a few months--not a budget crisis this time but a construction shutdown that could ramp up when our highway trust fund reaches critically low levels.

It will get worse and worse if we do not solve the problem. So I have come to the floor today to call on my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to work together to avert this looming crisis and to do it in a commonsense way that gives our States the multiyear certainty they need to plan projects, to invest in their communities, and to create jobs.

Since the mid-1950s our Nation has relied on the highway trust fund to support transportation projects that create jobs and keep our economy moving. The fund helps to repave our roads so they are not pockmarked with potholes. It helps congestion on our Nation's highways, and it helps repair bridges that are outdated and unsafe.

But as soon as July--just a few months from now--the Department of Transportation predicts the highway trust fund will reach a critically low level. If this is not resolved, construction projects to improve our roads and our bridges could shut down and leave workers without a paycheck.

We are already seeing some consequences from this crisis. In Arkansas, 10 construction projects, such as building highway connections and replacing bridges, have already been put on hold. The State of Colorado wants to widen a major highway to ease congestion between Denver and Fort Collins, but officials say that with this funding shortage in the highway trust fund, that project could be delayed. These are not isolated cases. States from Vermont to California might have to stop construction in its tracks because of this highway trust fund shortfall.

This crisis will also cut jobs. As we all know, construction is at its peak in the summer months. But without funding States may have no choice but to stop construction and leave workers without a job. That is going to hurt communities with needless delays on the very improvements that would help our businesses and spur economic growth.

This is unacceptable. It is unnecessary. Congress needs to work to avoid this construction shutdown. There is no reason--none--to lurch to another avoidable crisis when workers and families across the country are struggling. We need to ensure that construction can continue this summer. We need to support workers. We need to deliver a multiyear solution for the highway trust fund.

Fortunately, we can solve this in a way that should have bipartisan support. President Obama and House Republican Dave Camp, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, have proposed using corporate revenue to shore up the highway trust fund. That approach makes a lot of sense. By closing wasteful corporate tax loopholes, we can support improvements to our roads and bridges that benefit everyone--including our big businesses, so they can move their products quickly and efficiently--and make our broken Tax Code a bit fairer in the process. We can start by taking a close look at the tax loopholes House Republicans have proposed closing in Chairman Camp's recent plan.

Replenishing the highway trust fund with revenue by closing wasteful corporate loopholes will provide multiyear funding so we can provide our States with the certainty they need to plan. That kind of certainty has been absent for a long time. It has forced States to hold off on bigger projects that will help create jobs and long-term economic growth.

I am very hopeful that Democrats and Republicans can work together to restore some certainty to States around our country. I know bipartisan support is possible, especially on an issue as important as this one. Since the highway trust fund's inception under Dwight D. Eisenhower, Republicans and Democrats have come together to invest in this national priority. Under Democratic and Republican Presidencies--from President Clinton to President Reagan to President Clinton--we updated and supported the highway trust fund. Even 2 years ago in a hyperpartisan election year, Congress reached a bipartisan agreement so that we could continue to build the roads and bridges and transit systems our communities need. In the past Republicans and Democrats have stepped up to support our workers and make sure we can invest in our transportation systems that put workers on the job and help businesses move their goods and help our economy grow.

There is no reason to wait until the last minute to get this done. The threat is growing on our construction sites and for jobs across the country. We have to give our States and our communities the confidence that Congress will not push them into another crisis.

Six months ago our communities and families endured a needless government shutdown. Americans are sick and tired of the dysfunction of Washington, DC, and constant crises. There is no reason for Congress to put them through anything even remotely similar, especially over transportation projects that will benefit our families, our communities, and our economy.

We must act to prevent a construction shutdown this summer. Let's build on the common ground that Democrats and Republicans share on this issue. Let's work together to show the American people that Congress can act to support our workers, families, and communities. Let's prevent a construction shutdown and give the highway trust fund some certainty. We need to make sure our States can keep investing in jobs and economic growth at this critical time.

I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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