I believe the best way to address that gap is by drawing more women into higher-earning fields.

But as significant an achievement as that law was, we still need to act to eliminate that pay discrimination.

I am pleased and proud that the first piece of legislation that President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, but that was only the first step.

There is no advocate for pay equity more compelling and more eloquent than Rosa.

And I want to thank Senator Enzi as well, as all of our witnesses for being here today.

The gender pay gap is not just a women's issue. It is a family issue that affects the millions of young, old, and middle-aged Americans who rely on a woman breadwinner or co-breadwinner for their family.

Making sure that every woman earns a fair day's pay is increasingly important to family economic well-being.

I want to thank my colleague Senator Dodd publicly, as I have privately, for his great leadership in this area for so many, many years.

Women earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.

I am so proud that the first law President Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Congress has put two laws on the books to combat such discrimination--Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

We need to stop and ask why a parking meter reader is worth less than an electrical meter reader.

For every dollar a man earns, women earn only 77 cents.

That is why I introduced the Fair Pay Act.

Unfortunately, pay discrimination is a harsh reality in today's workplace, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I believe the goal of this committee should be to find solutions, and I have two solutions to offer for this potential problem.

That is why I strongly support the Paycheck Fairness Act, which Senators Dodd and Mikulski have long championed.

I welcome this opportunity to argue in favor of equal pay for women in the workforce as a proven means to strengthen American families and to grow our middle class.

He has spent so much of his professional career in trying to ensure the economic security of women and families in this Nation.

I am confident that there is no member of this committee who would tolerate paying a woman less for the same work simply because she is a woman.

I believe that paycheck fairness is legislation whose time has come.

Put simply, the Paycheck Fairness Act is a modest, common-sense reform that closes numerous longstanding loopholes in the Equal Pay Act.

We continue to have these bad actors selling ground beef to the national school lunch program.

Just because you eat one doughnut instead of two, that does not make it a smart choice.

I am exasperated. I am tired of this.