Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Relating to Contributions and Expenditures Intended to Affect Elections

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, over the last several weeks I spent a lot of time traveling across my home State of Washington hearing from workers and families about the challenges they face in today's economy. While there is no question the economy has made a lot of progress, I spoke with far too many people who are working as hard as they can and still feel as though they are running in place. Despite their best efforts, they have not achieved the kind of economic security that allows them to buy a home or save for retirement or start the new business they have been thinking about. I think we can all agree more Americans should have those kinds of opportunities.

So I am proud that this year Senate Democrats have focused on legislation that would go a long way toward giving our families and Americans a fair shot. We have made the case for giving millions of Americans across this country a raise, helping students get out from the crushing burden of student loan debt, ensuring that in the 21st century working women get equal pay, and so much more.

In the coming days we are going to bring these issues to the forefront once again and make another push for our Republican colleagues to join us. Each one of these policies would do so much for our families and for economic growth, and that is especially true because each would help women in today's workforce. I have come to the floor to focus on that last point in particular and talk about why each of these bills would make a real difference for women across the country.

You may remember that my Republican colleagues blocked these bills the last time the Democrats brought them to the floor. So I am going to encourage my Republican colleagues to say something besides no when it comes to higher wages for workers or college affordability or pay equity, because if they have a reason for opposing legislation that would help women and families get ahead, I think the American people deserve to hear it.

The role of women and families in our economy has shifted dramatically in the last several decades. Today 60 percent of families rely on earnings from both parents--up from 37 percent in 1975. Women today make up nearly half of the workforce, and more than ever women are likely to be the primary breadwinner in their families. Women are making a difference across the economy in boardrooms and lecture halls and small businesses, but our Nation's policies have not caught up with the times. In fact, today they are holding women back.

Across the country women still earn 77 cents on the dollar on average compared to men. That difference adds up. In Seattle last year women earned 73 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts, and that translated to a yearly gap for women of $16,346. Nationwide, over a typical woman's lifetime, pay discrimination amounts to $464,320 in lost wages. The gender wage gap makes dealing with other financial burdens such as student loans even more challenging.

This past spring I invited a woman from Massachusetts named AnnMarie Duchon to our Budget Committee hearing to testify about her own personal experience with pay inequity. AnnMarie told us that over the years she missed out on more than $12,000 in wages compared to a male coworker who was doing the same job. She told us she and her husband both have student loan debt and those lost wages--$12,000--would have covered 10 months of payments. AnnMarie said thinking about that setback was "heartbreaking.''

AnnMarie said she was ultimately able to go back and convince her employers to give her equal pay, but unfortunately most women are not able to do that. Many don't even know they are earning unequal wages. That is a real loss, both for our families and for our economy as a whole. That is why we need the Paycheck Fairness Act to tackle pay discrimination head-on and help ensure that in this 21st century workers are compensated based on how they do their job, not on their gender.

Another policy that needs an update is our Federal minimum wage. Two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women. Many of them are the sole breadwinners and sole caregivers for their family, and I know if you ask them how $7.25 an hour translates to a grocery trip for a family of four or shopping for school supplies or just paying transportation to and from work, they will give you a straight answer: It doesn't. Democrats know it is time they got a raise. Republicans disagree. They said no earlier this year to a raise for 15 million women, and I think the American people deserve to hear why.

Women aren't the only ones affected by these challenges, because when working women aren't getting equal pay, when they haven't gotten a raise in years, when they are struggling to make ends meet, that means their families are too--and our economy as a whole is weaker for it.

Democrats have put forward ideas throughout this year that would help level the playing field. It has been, I must say, deeply disappointing that time after time our Republican colleagues have simply said no--no to tax and pay discrimination through the Paycheck Fairness Act, no to giving millions of workers across the country--including 15 million women--a raise, no to legislation that would relieve some of the crushing burden of student loan debt, and the list goes on.

Republicans rejected so much as a debate on each of those bills just a few months ago, and that is a shame because we know these are issues women and families truly care about. They rightly expect us to be working together to come up with solutions. If Republicans are just going to reject our ideas, I think their constituents deserve to hear what else they have to offer.

When I was in my home State of Washington last month I spoke with an entrepreneur named Leilani Finau. Leilani has worked very hard to get her own business off the ground. She told me for the last 12 years she has only been able to pay the interest on her student loans. So more than a decade later she still owes the same amount of principal.

I also talked to a woman named Veronica Donoso. She is an administrative specialist and a single mom from my home State. Veronica told me about the financial burdens she is dealing with--not only student loans but childcare for her daughter. She said, "I try not to let my daughter see my struggles, but I feel terrible knowing that she is suffering too.''

I think women such as AnnMarie, Leilani, Veronica, and a lot of other women across the country deserve to hear more than just no from Republicans when it comes to legislation that could make a difference for them and their families.

In the next few days Republicans will have an opportunity to take a different approach than they have so far this year. I am calling on the Senate Republican leader to take advantage of it. We should be able to debate these important issues. Democrats have put solutions on the table, a higher minimum wage, student debt relief, giving women more tools to fight pay discrimination, and more. If Republicans have more to say than no, it is time for them to do it.

Thank you. I yield the floor.

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