On the recordJune 5, 2012
In my home State of Louisiana, wage discrimination based on gender is particularly problematic. According to the Joint Economic Committee Report, women in Louisiana do not earn 77 cents, they earn 69 cents for every $1 paid to men, which is significantly less than the national average. At the same time, women make up almost half--48 percent--of the Louisiana workforce, and 24 percent of married, employed mothers in Louisiana are their family's primary wage earners. This bill is the next step. It is the right step. It is the commonsense step to fight against wage discrimination, and I am proud to join my colleague from Baltimore, from the State of Maryland, in championing this particular bill. Again, I thank the Senator from Maryland and I look forward to working with her and my colleagues to try to get this bill to the President's desk in the next few weeks. This is an economic development issue, as the Senator from Maryland knows. I yield the floor.
