Date: 1984-06-28
Speaker: DANIEL B. CRANE (republican)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. my amendment is very straightforward. It simply restates current. law that all Federal employees. without regard to sex or any other condition. shall receive equal pay for equal work. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 both require equal pay for equal work in most places of employment. The concept applies to the Governments wageset.ting process. The requirement. of equal pay for substantially equal work is embodied in current law in title V. The term "substantially equal" is the term now used in title V. The terms "equal" and "substantially equal" have a clear legal meaning. They can be readily applied and understood from decades of use. The language of this bill. however. uses the new and controversial term "comparable" in several key areas. In outlining discriminatory wagesetting practices. the language of the bill refers to "comparable duties. responsibilities. and qualification require117:310 June.!8. 1984 CONGitESSIONA. RECORI) - I101 iSE ments." It refers to a st udy of "compa. rabli working conditions" that apply to both white collar and blue collar employees. In discutssinge job Ievaltia tion techniques that are to bu embodied in tihe. proipo.d shatdy. tiose condtthatiol tihe study ate rq"tuirtd hNv tihis Dill to tit ablish an objeclt i methold of deteriingfl thle -colmilhrl the %alue" of "diffrent positioit ini hlie Itdil (overnmeint. Thi tev.n "olIIa lV- i this till I.. elaly i suls.titute for tiI term "m1iemvhii worth." lI fact . t direct reform.lt e to comparabit worl th w:1-.ud in an e~arliur versi t ot flits l k .i:i:tiin ii thIli s iti anry ul tonclision iltd l f inn:.s !n IitH. 45(w9 Th i lemt is tha1t (te is o scith thin w. ru mpartablh worth. There exists i .kICefinIIRitin oIf thI e It -rm adequatIe tl aliply it to jot vlaluntimO. Yet We are 11sked to approve leg1ishation based onl a mninglll"les~s concept. and to reject lie t concept of equal pay for equal work. I emipianilte to iny colleauvu.s -I his is not an equal lay for etual work bill. If It werm. my atnendment would not be necessary. It. Is a comparable worth bill. Advocates of that concept ginerally tntan that jobs should be valuied equally and paid the same even if tle jobs tlienselves are radically diffircnt. For example. they might insist thi a plumber and a receptionist. be paid tllsaime. because they are worth the same. Obviously. wortIt i subjective: If your basement. floods. a plumber is worth much more than a receptionis.. But would you want your plumber sit(ing in your front offlee greeting con stit utentIs? Obviously. comparable wortii is an apples and oranges comparison.Although the term "comparable worth" Is meaningless. there Is no question as to what Its advocates Intend: The abandonment. of salaries set by the free market in response to supply and demand. Instead. they would marshall the powers of the Federal Government. to tell employers what wages they shall pay. Needless to say. I his is not a conept that the Congress should endorse. In fact. if we do. there Is a very rent possibility the Federal Governmtnt would find itself facing many of the same problems lie State of Warhington facs today. On Dcember ill. 1983. U.S. DItrtict Judge Jack E. TI o .r ordortd Wnaishirtnn to aw ard haK ..V and higher salaries to more111 that 15.000 mostly female emtnployees at a ost of over $801) million. IT lausuit in quIfestIon was slot based upon the charge that emtltployes were beling denitd equal pay rot equal wo h. The ruling wa.s based on til .ame priwip!e itmbodied in the hill before us today. tihat of comparale north. Tih bausis for t he charge brourht fy the lit igantus was a retuptnat worti study of the jolhs of 81tate emiohlyers--just lie kind of stidy cnled for in ti ltgislatIion. which couldand I predict will--be lite bais for sinilar actions against the Federal Colernmnent if this bill is successful. Mr. Chairman. my aientitent calla for equal pay for equial work. A lat against it Is a vote against equal pli for tttti.it work. quality Is our Ital. and to Ihieve that goal is tlie objtwIl (if mly muen0dmentil.