Mark Takano: “Thank you. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin. I will be speaking today on equal pay. Today I signed the discharge…”

“Thank you. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin. I will be speaking today on equal pay. Today I signed the discharge petition to bring the Paycheck Fairness Act to the floor to ensure that women across the country receive equal pay for equal work. This week, on Tuesday, we recognized Equal Pay Day, which is the symbolic day that marks the time it takes for women's earnings to equal men's earnings from the previous year. Thanks to the 23 percent wage gap, it takes an extra 3 months for women in America to catch up. The wage gap persists at all levels of education and exists across occupations. In my home State of California, the typical woman, working full-time, year-round, is paid, on average, only 84 cents to every dollar her male counterparts make. In my home district the pay discrepancy is even worse. Women living in the Inland Empire make 81 cents to every dollar, and many are the sole breadwinners in their households. This isn't just an insult to women who work hard at their jobs every day, it hurts families and children. In my district, the wage gap amounts to an average loss of $8,900 that could be used to pay for rent, groceries, and child care. This is unacceptable. When President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, he criticized the unconscionable practice of paying female employees less wages than male employees for the same job.…”