Katherine Clark: “I thank my colleague from Massachusetts. Congress often talks about strengthening the middle class and growing our…”

“I thank my colleague from Massachusetts. Congress often talks about strengthening the middle class and growing our economy. For many years now, we have had an opportunity to pass a commonsense bill that will actually help us do just that. It was the very first bill that I cosponsored. The Paycheck Fairness Act ensures equal pay for equal work and will help us end wage discrimination for half of our workforce. Recent reports tell us that, given current trends, pay equity between women and men will not be achieved until 2058. We shouldn't have to wait until our children are ready to retire before women are finally paid what they are worth. Women are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime due to wage discrimination. And for women of color, it is an even worse situation. African American women, on average, earn only 64 cents, and Latinas, on average, earn only 56 cents for every dollar earned by White men. When women aren't paid what they are worth, that means less money for their families, less money for child care, less money for gas and groceries, and less money to help them prepare for the future. When wage discrimination persists, women and their families are less able to contribute to the economy, and that hurts all of us. Ending wage discrimination for our workforce is just common sense.…”