When women are not paid what they deserve, middle class families and communities pay the price.
Senator Patty Murray (from the state of Washington) speaks out for the Paycheck Fairness Act.
For text click here.
Over the past few months, many of us have stood together to fight
back against partisan attacks on policies impacting women across
America. We haven’t started these fights—but we weren’t going to stand
by and watch as they rolled back the clock.
“But every time we stood up to defend women—our friends on
the other side of the aisle would jump right up and say we were creating
‘distractions,’ or ‘manufactured issues.’ They would say we should be
focused on the economy. As if we were the ones changing the subject and
making the partisan attacks.
“Well, we’re not going to stop standing up for women and
families. And to those of my colleagues who claim to be so concerned
about the economy and the middle class—now’s your chance to prove to
your constituents that you really mean what you say. Because the
Paycheck Fairness Act isn’t just about women. And it’s not just about
fairness. It’s about the economy. When women aren’t paid what they
deserve, middle class families and communities pay the price.”
“Women in my home state of Washington still earn 77 cents on the
dollar; a pay gap that averages $11,834 in lost earnings each year.
That’s an extra 90 weeks of groceries or 179 tanks of gasoline. To women
in Washington and to most women across America, that’s certainly not a
‘manufactured issue’ It’s very real!”
“I was proud to stand with Senator Mikulski, other Members of
Congress and the President as he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
of 2009 to give women who are victims of pay discrimination the tools
they need to seek justice. However, our work is far from complete. We
are still not yet at the point where our daughters can expect to earn
the same amount over their lifetime as our sons—and that has to change.”