[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 54 (Thursday, March 28, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H2891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              {time}  0915
                           DISPARITIES IN PAY

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the disparities 
in pay between men and women in this country.
  Today, women are paid only 80 cents for every dollar paid to men, 
resulting in a gap of $10,169 each year. The gap exists in every State, 
regardless of geography, occupation, education, or work patterns.
  This disparity is worse for women of color. On average, Hispanic 
women are typically paid 53 cents; Native American women, 58 cents; and 
Black women, 61 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men.
  The Paycheck Fairness Act would help to close these punishing gaps by 
eliminating loopholes in the Equal Pay Act.
  The wage gap between America's men and women denies women $900 
billion in income each year. Across the country, this disparity 
directly affects children. In my district of the Virgin Islands, 32 
percent of families with children live in poverty. Of that number, 76 
percent are headed by a single mother.
  We know that families who live in poverty have higher rates of 
instability and that children living in poverty perform worse in school 
than their counterparts. By paying each woman the $10,000 they lose per 
annum to the wage gap, we can do the right thing, and the fiscally 
responsible thing, and raise millions of families above the poverty 
line.

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