[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 462 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 462
Urging the United States Soccer Federation to immediately eliminate
gender pay inequity and treat all athletes with the same respect and
dignity.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 12, 2016
Mrs. Murray (for herself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Casey, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs.
Shaheen, Mr. Leahy, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Warren, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Brown, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Markey, Ms.
Hirono, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Reid, Mr. Carper, Ms. Stabenow, Mr.
Whitehouse, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Schatz) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions
May 26, 2016
Committee discharged; considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Urging the United States Soccer Federation to immediately eliminate
gender pay inequity and treat all athletes with the same respect and
dignity.
Whereas title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.)
(referred to in this preamble as ``title IX'') requires schools and
institutions of higher education to provide the same opportunities for
girls that the schools and institutions of higher education provide for
boys;
Whereas 6 years after the date of enactment of title IX, the approximate
percentage of girls playing team sports increased from 4 percent to 25
percent, a sixfold increase;
Whereas the participation of girls in club soccer in the United States increased
by approximately 37 percent between 1995 and 2015;
Whereas the participation of girls in high school soccer programs increased by
approximately 45 percent between 1999 and 2014;
Whereas the participation of girls in team sports results in lifelong
improvements to the educational, work, and health prospects of the
girls;
Whereas the United States Soccer Federation is the governing body of soccer in
all forms in the United States and endeavors to make soccer a preeminent
sport in the United States;
Whereas the United States Women's National Team has won 3 Federation
Internationale de Football Association (commonly referred to as
``FIFA'') Women's World Cups, 4 Olympic Gold Medals, and 7 Confederation
of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (commonly
referred to as ``CONCACAF'') Gold Cups;
Whereas the United States Women's National Team is ranked first in the world as
of the date of adoption of this resolution;
Whereas the 2015 final Women's World Cup match generated an audience of
approximately 750,000,000 viewers worldwide and more than 25,000,000
viewers in the United States, the largest audience of any soccer game
shown in the United States on English language television;
Whereas the members of the United States Women's National Team are some of the
most visible athletes in the world and serve as an inspiration and as
role models to young athletes across the United States and worldwide;
Whereas the members of the United States Women's National Team, despite the
international success of the members, are consistently paid less than
similarly situated members of the United States Men's National Team for
doing the same job, regardless of the performance of the teams;
Whereas a woman in 1963 was paid on average only 59 cents for each dollar paid
to a male counterpart;
Whereas, in 1963, Congress passed and President Kennedy signed the landmark
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 201 note; Public Law 88-38) (referred
to in this preamble as the ``Equal Pay Act''), unequivocally affirming
that women deserve equal pay for equal work;
Whereas the enactment of the Equal Pay Act laid the groundwork for title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) and title IX,
which together vastly expanded opportunities for girls and women at
school and work;
Whereas the pay disparities suffered by the members of the United States Women's
National Team are reflective of the reality of many women in the United
States who, more than 50 years after the enactment of the Equal Pay Act,
still make on average only 79 cents for each dollar made by a male
counterpart;
Whereas those pay disparities exist in both the private and the public sectors
and, in many instances, the pay disparities can only be due to continued
intentional discrimination or the lingering effects of past
discrimination;
Whereas unequal pay on the basis of gender tells women and girls that, whether
on the soccer field or in the office, the hard work of the women or
girls is not valued equally to that of male counterparts;
Whereas unequal pay on the basis of gender violates generally held beliefs
regarding equality and fundamental fairness;
Whereas the wage gap equals approximately $10,762 less per year in median
earnings for women and their families compared to men;
Whereas, compared to the earnings of White, non-Hispanic men, women on average
face a lifetime wage gap of $430,480, African-American women on average
face a lifetime wage gap of $877,480, and Latinas on average face a
lifetime wage gap of $1,007,080; and
Whereas unequal pay on the basis of gender threatens the economic security of
women and their families while the women are in the workforce and the
retirement security of women after the women have left the workforce:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) urges the United States Soccer Federation to
immediately end gender pay inequity and to treat all athletes
with the respect and dignity those athletes deserve;
(2) supports an end to pay discrimination based on gender
and the strengthening of equal pay protections; and
(3) instructs the Secretary of the Senate to submit a copy
of this resolution to the United States Soccer Federation.
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