Title: Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity between wages paid to men and women.
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the disparity between wages paid to men and women, and its impact on women, families, and the nation and reaffirms Congress' commitment to supporting equal pay for equal work and to narrowing the gender wage gap.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 30 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 30

  Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity between 
                      wages paid to men and women.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2019

 Ms. Frankel (for herself, Ms. DeLauro, Mrs. Lawrence, Ms. Speier, Ms. 
Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. 
  Moulton, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Schrier, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. 
Kaptur, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Moore, Mr. Takano, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. 
    Bustos, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mr. 
Lipinski, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Smith of 
 Washington, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Van Drew, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Rush, Ms. 
   Castor of Florida, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. McGovern, Mr. 
DeSaulnier, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cardenas, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Khanna, Mr. 
 Cohen, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Mr. Pallone, Mr. DeFazio, 
Mr. Swalwell of California, Mr. Cox of California, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. 
Hill of California, Ms. DeGette, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Meeks, 
Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mrs. Craig, Mr. Welch, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Langevin, 
Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Omar, Ms. Wilson 
of Florida, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Ms. DelBene, 
Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Ms. Pingree, Mr. San Nicolas, Ms. Roybal-Allard, 
 Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, Ms. Kuster 
  of New Hampshire, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Heck, Mrs. Watson 
  Coleman, Ms. Wexton, Ms. Gabbard, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. McEachin, Mrs. 
 McBath, Mr. Cooper, Ms. Haaland, Mrs. Lowey, Ms. Titus, Ms. Dean, Mr. 
 Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Pappas, Ms. Shalala, Mr. Soto, 
   Mr. Cummings, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Evans, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. 
 Carbajal, Ms. Bass, Ms. Adams, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Case) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity between 
                      wages paid to men and women.

Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
        206(d)(1)) prohibits discrimination in compensation for equal work on 
        the basis of sex;
Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) 
        prohibits discrimination in compensation because of race, color, 
        religion, national origin, or sex;
Whereas over 5 decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 
        206 note), Census Bureau data show that women working full-time, year-
        round are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to men, while Asian-
        American women working full-time, year-round are paid 85 cents, White, 
        non-Hispanic women working full-time, year-round are paid 77 cents, 
        African-American women working full-time, year-round are paid 61 cents, 
        Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women working full-time, year-round 
        are paid 59 cents, American Indian and Alaska Native women working full-
        time, year-round are paid 58 cents, and Hispanic women working full-
        time, year-round are paid 53 cents compared to White, non-Hispanic men;
Whereas April 2, 2019, is Equal Pay Day, marking the day that symbolizes how 
        long into 2019 women must work to make what men were paid in 2018;
Whereas March 5, 2019, is Asian American and Pacific Islander Women's Equal Pay 
        Day; April 19, 2019, is White Women's Equal Pay Day; August 22, 2019, is 
        Black Women's Equal Pay Day; September 23, 2019, is Native Women's Equal 
        Pay Day; and November 20, 2019, is Latinas' Equal Pay Day;
Whereas if current trends continue, on average women collectively will have to 
        wait 40 years for equal pay, African-American women will have to wait 
        100 years, and Hispanic women will have to wait 205 years;
Whereas the disparity in median annual earnings for women and men working full-
        time year-round is $10,169, which can add up to more than $400,000 over 
        a career, and an estimated more than $1,000,000 in lost income for 
        millennial women;
Whereas women's median earnings are less than men's at every level of academic 
        achievement, with women with less than a high school diploma earning 77 
        percent of men's earnings, and women with an advanced degree earning 74 
        percent of men's earnings at the same level of education;
Whereas women are often paid less than men with lower levels of education, with 
        women with associate's degrees paid less than men with a high school 
        diploma, and women with master's degrees paid less than men with 
        bachelor's degrees;
Whereas, in the United States, mothers are breadwinners in half of families with 
        children under 18, and mothers working full-time are paid 71 percent as 
        much as fathers;
Whereas median pay for women with disabilities was 72 percent that of men with 
        disabilities;
Whereas the gender wage gap collectively costs women employed full-time in the 
        United States more than $900,000,000,000 in annual lost wages, so that 
        families have less money to spend on goods and services that help drive 
        economic growth;
Whereas if the annual gender wage gap were eliminated, on average, a working 
        woman in the United States would have enough money for approximately 13 
        more months of child care, 10 additional months of rent, 7 additional 
        months of mortgage and utilities payments, the full cost of tuition and 
        fees for a 2-year college, 7 additional months of premiums for employer-
        based health insurance, up to 8.4 additional years of birth control, 
        more than 70 weeks of food, or enough money to pay off student loan debt 
        in just under 3 years;
Whereas women hold two-thirds of the Nation's $1,400,000,000,000 outstanding 
        student loan debt, totaling over $890,000,000,000, and are less likely 
        to be able to pay off their student loan debt promptly due to wage 
        disparities;
Whereas the wage gap impacts women's ability to save for retirement and women's 
        total Social Security and pension benefits, and older women are more 
        likely than men to live in poverty;
Whereas sex discrimination in education, hiring, and promotion has played a role 
        in maintaining a workforce segregated by sex;
Whereas sex-based wage differentials--

    (1) depress employee wages and living standards necessary for health 
and wellbeing;

    (2) reduce family incomes and contribute to the higher poverty rates 
among women and their families; and

    (3) prevent the effective and maximum utilization of available labor 
resources;

Whereas a wage gap exists in nearly every occupational field, but opening 
        traditionally male jobs to women and reducing occupational segregation 
        by sex increases earnings for women;
Whereas nearly two-thirds of workers paid the minimum wage or less are women and 
        the concentration of women in low-wage jobs is a significant contributor 
        to the wage gap;
Whereas the gender wage gap between union women and men is about half the size 
        of the wage gap between nonunion women and men, and women union members 
        typically earn $224 more per week than women who are not represented by 
        unions;
Whereas as much as 38 percent of the wage gap is unexplained by observable 
        factors such as variation in educational attainment, industry, and 
        occupation, and may reflect discrimination;
Whereas two-thirds of private sector workers report that employers either 
        prohibit or discourage them from discussing their pay, which can keep 
        the existence of pay discrimination hidden and prevent remedying that 
        discrimination;
Whereas the lack of family friendly policies, such as access to affordable, 
        quality child care, paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, and 
        fair and predictable work schedules, forces many caregivers to choose 
        between providing for their families financially and ensuring their 
        loved ones receive quality care, and contributes to the wage gap;
Whereas 60 to 70 percent of women have been on the receiving end of sexual 
        harassment during their careers, and an estimated 87 to 94 percent of 
        those who experience sexual harassment never file a formal complaint;
Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave their occupation or 
        industry, or pass up opportunities for advancement, and this contributes 
        to the gender wage gap;
Whereas equal pay strengthens the economic security of families and enhances 
        retirement savings;
Whereas when women are paid fairly, families are stronger, businesses prosper, 
        and American values and the economy are strengthened;
Whereas if women in the United States received equal pay comparable with men, 
        poverty for working women would be reduced by half and the economy would 
        add $512,000,000,000 annually, based on a 2017 analysis; and
Whereas numerous national organizations have designated Tuesday, April 2, 2019, 
        as Equal Pay Day to represent the additional time that women must work 
        to compensate for the average 20-percent lower wages paid to women last 
        year: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes the disparity between wages paid to women 
        and men, and its impact on women, families, and the Nation; and
            (2) reaffirms its commitment to supporting equal pay for 
        equal work and to narrowing the gender wage gap.
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