On the recordMay 14, 2015
I appear here today filled with a sense of great pride but also deeply troubled. I am proud of the work done by women every day in America, women like my grandmother, who raised family, put food on the table, and ensured that their children received the education and care that they deserved. I am offended that, as I stand here today, more than 50 years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, as a country, we are still, as women, seeking pay equality. Women are only earning 78 cents to every dollar earned by a man. For women of color, that gap is even greater. I am deeply troubled by the lack of retirement security for women, American women, and all older Americans. Today, I am alarmed at our failure to provide women who work hard with basic benefits like paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave. I am not intimidated, as a Member of Congress, by these problems. I and my Democratic colleagues are energized and united to correct this page in American history because we know, when women succeed, America succeeds. ____________________
