Congresswoman Sutton Speaks in Support of the Paycheck Fairness Act

January 9, 2009

Floor Speech on the Paycheck Fairness Act

I rise in strong support of this bill.

Last November, people across this country voted for change, and with passage of this legislation, we'll finally change the wage gap that has persisted between men and women.

We know the statistics: 77 cents on the dollar that women earn as opposed to men. But this is about more than statistics. It's about people. It's about women, and it's about their families. And it's about fairness.

With every paycheck of these affected women, they are cheated, and their families are cheated.

It robs families of earned income. It robs their pensions. It robs their Social Security benefits. And it robs them of fairness and justice.

We are a country that values fairness and justice for all of our citizens, not just those of a certain gender.

Let's pass this bill.