Political Quotes

“I rise in very strong support of Senator Mikulski's amendment on equal pay for equal work for the women of our country. Senator Mikulski has been a tireless advocate for policies that bolster the American middle class and has been a champion for many years for pay equity for women, and I thank the Senator from Maryland for all she has done. I also concur with the strong remarks made by Senator Murray, who has also been a champion for pay equity. To my mind, it is very hard to defend the current reality in which women continue to earn 78 cents on the dollar compared to men. We want to end that discrimination against women workers. This is not only an issue of justice, it is also an issue of economics because when we establish pay equity in this country--equal pay for equal work-- millions of women will receive higher pay and many of them and their families will leave the ranks of the poor. This is an extraordinarily important amendment for justice, and it is an important amendment for economic rights. The pay gap we see in this country is found at every level of education and at every stage of a career. No matter how hard women work, it is next to impossible to overcome it because they move up the ranks, but there is still pay inequity. The pay equity gap has a significant bearing on the economic status of female-led households. Only 18 percent of families headed by single moms have economic security.…”