Political Quotes

“I join my colleagues and thank the Senator from Missouri for her statement as somebody who has been involved in basically making sure the law is implemented and upheld too. I appreciate her views. I thank Senator Mikulski for her leadership in advocating for equal pay for equal work. She has been a champion for many years and she is insistent now that we pass this legislation, and that is why we are here, because we want our colleagues to understand how important it is to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation and end the discrimination many women face in America. This is a critical issue, not only for women but for men because, obviously, the households of America deserve to have both people making equal pay. The message from the American people is clear: They want Congress to focus on the most important economic issues of the day; that is, jobs. And certainly having a job that pays you equally for the work you do with your coworkers is critically important. The Paycheck Fairness Act is exactly what we should be working on, ways to strengthen the pocketbooks of many Americans. While we have made progress over the past five decades since we passed the Equal Pay Act, we still have a long way to go. In my State, the State of Washington, women are paid 78 cents for every $1 that men earn for the same work. That amounts to an average wage gap of $11,000 per year.…”