Jackie Speier: “For a quarter of a century, Chairwoman DeLauro has been trying to get this bill passed. She is sick and tired, I am sick…”

“For a quarter of a century, Chairwoman DeLauro has been trying to get this bill passed. She is sick and tired, I am sick and tired, and American women are sick and tired of being treated like second-class citizens. Imagine if the women here in Congress were being paid 60, 70, or 80 percent of what our male colleagues are making. Do you think we would put up with it? Of course not. Somehow, American women are expected to put up with that. Do you want facts? Ask about Ms. Rexroat, from the State of Arizona, who was paid less than her colleague because they decided that they would base her salary on what she was making before, as opposed to the job at hand. We have a problem, Mr. Speaker. This has been going on for way too long. It is time for us to fix it for all the women and children in this country who want to be paid equally for equal work so that they have money for childcare, rent, food, and education.”