Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am so pleased to be able to join our colleague and leader on so many issues that affect women and families, Senator Mikulski. I am here today to join her and our other colleagues who will be coming to the floor to talk about something that is a real matter of fundamental importance for our country. Workers should have equal access to every opportunity that will help them put food on the table, send their children to school, and save for retirement. Unfortunately, here we are in 2012 and still millions of American women lose nearly a quarter of their potential earnings to pay discrimination. Almost 50 years after the landmark Equal Pay Act banned wage discrimination based on gender, women in our country continue to be paid just over three-quarters of what their male counterparts receive for performing the exact same work. Every day this wage gap exists is a further injustice to current workers, such as my daughters, and to future members of the workforce, such as my granddaughters and so many other granddaughters of Members of this body. Pay discrimination does not just hurt the employee, it endangers the families who depend on these women. One in three working moms is her family's only source of income. With the money that mother loses to pay discrimination every year, she could be paying housing and utility costs on her home or she could be feeding her family, with money to spare.…”