Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 303 and ask for its immediate consideration. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.…
Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 303 and ask for its immediate consideration.
Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
General Leave
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
Madam Speaker, yesterday the Committee on Rules met and reported a rule, House Resolution 303, providing for consideration of H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, under a structured rule. It provides 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor. It self-executes a manager's amendment from Chairman Scott and makes in order six amendments to H.R. 7. It also provides for one motion to recommit.
The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 1195, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, under a structured rule. It provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor and makes in order six amendments to H.R. 1195. It also provides for one motion to recommit. Finally, the rule provides for an en bloc authority to Chairman Scott or his designee for both bills.
Madam Speaker, before I begin, I just wanted to take a moment--this is the first time I have been on the floor since we lost Congressman Hastings--to say for myself, personally, how much gratitude I have for having known him and been able to serve with him. I regret that I won't see his smiling face, at least in this body, again.
Madam Speaker, the two bills we are talking about today have the potential to drastically improve the working lives of millions of Americans.
In 2019, nearly 1 in 9 women in the United States lived in poverty, with even higher rates for women of color. More than 1 in 3 families, headed by unmarried mothers, lived in poverty. And 60 percent of all poor children lived in families headed by unmarried mothers.
The coronavirus pandemic has only deepened the divides that already existed in this country. Women are especially likely to be on the front lines of the pandemic. At the same time, they are also being paid less than their male counterparts.
Madam Speaker, 93 percent of childcare workers, 66 percent of grocery store cashiers, 70 percent of food servers, and 77 percent of clothing, shoe stores, and retail salespeople are women. Women-- disproportionately Black women and Latinas--make up more than 8 in 10 of those working as home health aides, personal care aides, and nursing assistants. They are also at great risk for contracting COVID-19.
Madam Speaker, 6 months ago, deep into the pandemic, 1 in 6 Latinas and 1 in 5 Black women reported not having enough food in the previous week, and many reported being behind on rent or mortgage payments. Even before the pandemic, women typically lost more than $10,000 every year to the gender wage gap, with even higher losses for women of color.
More than five decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a woman in America still makes only 82 cents on average for every dollar earned by her male counterpart. Compared to White men, Black women are paid 63 cents. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women are paid 63 cents, American Indian or Alaska Native women are paid 60 cents and Hispanic women are paid 55 cents.
Based on today's wage gap, a woman who works full time year-round stands to lose over $400,000 over a 40-year career because of this disparity. This is not the United States that Frances Perkins, the first woman Secretary, envisioned, and we have an opportunity today to make a real change.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to have joined with my very dear friend, Chairwoman DeLauro, to introduce the Paycheck Fairness Act, which is an important step towards ending gender-based wage discrimination and ensuring that all women receive equal pay for equal work. It is time to make equal pay for equal work more than just a slogan and turn it into a reality.
Madam Speaker, we are also here to talk about the epidemic of violence against healthcare and social service workers. Last year, Department of Labor statistics show that they were nearly five times as likely to suffer a serious workplace violence injury than workers in other industries.
The General Accounting Office found that rates of violence against healthcare workers in hospitals, nursing homes, and residential care facilities is 5 to 12 times higher than the estimated rates for workers overall. Between 2011 and 2016, 58 hospital workers died as a result of workplace violence.
Madam Speaker, for me, this matter strikes close to home. In 2010, Napa State Hospital technician Donna K. Gross was killed outside of Napa State Hospital by a patient under psychiatric care. Donna was a constituent. She entered the profession to honor her mother, who battled mental illness and was a patient at this very same hospital. She was the mother of three grown children and was raising her granddaughter. Her colleagues described her by saying: ``First and foremost, Donna was a human service-type person and loved being with people and working with people.''
Donna's life was cut short when a patient brutally murdered her to steal jewelry and cash. This story is just one of thousands, and incidents are on the rise. Sadly, violence has become so commonplace for healthcare workers that they think it is part of their job, resulting in only 30 percent of violent incidents actually being reported.
Some States have stepped up to enact laws to require employers to establish a plan to protect against workplace violence. Donna's story, for example, inspired action in California that I was proud to be part of. That action in California served as the basis for the bill before us tomorrow.
These workers deserve national action, and they deserve it now. At the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, these workers are not receiving the urgent attention they need.
OSHA takes at least 7 years to put out a standard. But in some instances, it can take more than 20 years. People like Donna Kay Gross cannot wait any longer.
To protect the people who dedicate their lives to caring for us, we need to move now. In truth, we needed to move years ago. The longer we wait, the more people are suffering. The longer we wait, the more people like Donna will die.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the distinguished chair of the Rules Committee and representative of the beautiful city of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel).
Madam Speaker, I have no other speakers, so I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I include in the Record a March 25 New York Times article entitled `` In 25 Years, the Pay Gap Has Shrunk by Just 8 Cents.''
[From the New York Times, Mar. 25, 2021]
In 25 Years, the Pay Gap Has Shrunk by Just 8 Cents
(By Francesca Donner and Emma Goldberg
Megan Rapinoe is a two-time World Cup champion who has
played to sold-out stadiums around the globe; what she has in
common with nearly every American woman is that she's
underpaid.
On Wednesday, Ms. Rapinoe testified during a hearing held
by Representative Carolyn B. Maloney to examine economic harm
caused by gender inequalities, particularly for women of
color.
Today is All Women's Equal Pay Day, Ms. Maloney said. But
it's not Equal Pay Day for all women.
Black women would have to work until Aug. 3, 2021, to earn
what men made in 2020. For Latina women, the date doesn't
come until Oct. 21.
``This is a disgrace,'' Ms. Maloney said. ``And it has
long-term consequences for women and families.''
Wage discrimination isn't limited to any one sector or
income level.
Take Ms. Rapinoe, whose fight for equal pay has become
something of a calling card for the U.S. women's team, and
who played a central role in the team's lawsuit on unequal
pay filed in 2019.
``One cannot simply outperform inequality,'' she said. ``Or
be excellent enough to escape discrimination.''
If it can happen to me, she said, ``it can--and it does--
happen to every person marginalized by gender.''
In Her Words looked at the history of Equal Pay Day, the
reasons for the wage gap and what can be done to close it.
It's a symbolic day that illustrates how far into the
current year American women would need to work to earn what
their male counterparts earned last year. Put another way,
because there is a disparity in what women and men are paid,
women would need to work around 448 days to earn what men
earn in just 365 days.
Race plays a part, too: For Black and Hispanic women, the
numbers are worse. For Asian women, the numbers skew a bit
better.
Estimates vary on how much the wage gap will cost an
American woman over the course of her career. The National
Women's Law Center puts it at $406,280 in lost income on
average, but that number can top $1 million for Hispanic
women and is just shy of $1 million for Black and Native
American women.
How did it become a thing?
Equal Pay Day was established in 1996 by the National
Committee on Pay Equity. Today marks the 25th. But debates
around pay equity date back much further than that.
Carolyn York, secretary-treasurer of the National Committee
on Pay Equity, pointed out in an email that in 1942, as huge
numbers of women began replacing men in the work force, the
National War Labor Board urged employers to make
``adjustments which equalize wage or salary rates paid to
females with the rates paid to males for comparable quality
and quantity of work on the same or similar operations.'' But
two decades on, in the 1960s, women were still earning only
around 59 cents for every dollar a man made.
Do other countries have a gender wage gap?
Of course they do. According to this O.E.C.D. study, the
United States falls behind Canada and ahead of Mexico. In
addition to Canada, other countries that have a smaller pay
gap than the United States are Romania, Colombia, Belgium,
Costa Rica, Denmark, Norway . . . the list goes on. And on.
Has the pay gap narrowed over time?
Yes, but not by much. We're talking pennies. This year,
it's estimated that American women will earn around 82 cents
for every dollar that a man earns. A decade ago in 2011, it
was 77 cents. In 1996, the first ``official'' Equal Pay Day,
it was around 74 cents. And this top-line number doesn't
account for differences in earnings among different racial
groups.
How is the wage gap number calculated?
The pay gap refers to the ratio of female to male median
annual earnings for full-time workers. Think of it as a
fraction: The numerator is the difference between male and
female median earnings, and the denominator is male median
earnings. The actual number might look different depending on
the source it's coming from, because some sources factor in
characteristics like age, family size, education level and
industry.
``We treat this issue as if you could summarize it in one
number,'' said Claudia Goldin, an economics professor at
Harvard University. ``It's the headline,'' not really the
full picture.
Are there jobs where women are better paid than men?
Not according to C. Nicole Mason, president of the
Institute for Women's Policy Research. When men enter female-
dominated sectors like nursing or education, the job begins
paying more, she explained. But the inverse is not true:
``When women enter male-dominated spaces, they don't get paid
more than men.''
How long will it take to close the pay gap if we do nothing
about it?
Mark your calendars for 2059; if current trends continue,
the gender wage gap is expected to close in a mere 38 years.
For Black and Hispanic women, the deadline is a whole century
away. If we do nothing, ``my daughter, and daughter's
daughter, will not see pay equity in their lives,'' Dr. Mason
said.
So what exactly explains the gap?
There are many factors at play, according to the American
Association of University Women. One of them is that the
fields in which women dominate tend to pay less than fields
dominated by men. This is irrespective of education or skill
required.
The ``motherhood penalty'' also complicates the wage gap.
Moms are less likely
to be hired, they receive lower salaries when they are, and
are less likely to be tapped on the shoulder for promotion.
(Ironic given research suggests moms are some of the most
productive employees.)
And women work around two-thirds of the low-paying jobs in
the United States; jobs that not only put workers at an
economic disadvantage, but also tend to be more unstable.
There is also ``invisible labor''--things like caregiving
responsibilities and household chores--that women do in
addition to their full-time work. ``Women perform up to 30
percent more unpaid labor,'' Dr. Mason said. Not to put too
fine a point upon it, but ``unpaid labor is unpaid.'' And
it's very hard--if not impossible--to do both your job and
take care of the household at the same time.
There's also good old-fashioned sexism at play: Even when
men and women are performing the exact same jobs, women tend
to receive less compensation thanks to overt or unconscious
biases, as well as stereotypes that make it more difficult
for women to negotiate.
The pay gap is caused by a ``layering effect'' of all of
these things, said Kimberly Churches, the CEO of the American
Association of University Women. Ultimately, ``this really is
how we value women and how we value women of color in our
society,'' she said.
Did Covid make it worse?
In a year of devastating job loss, especially for women--
hence the talk of a ``she-cession''--the Institute for
Women's Policy Research released a piece of research that
seemed, on its face, like good news. In 2020, it found the
weekly gender wage gap for full-time workers shrunk to 17.7
percent from 18.5 percent. Seems positive, right? Not so
fast.
As Ms. Goldin of Harvard explained, if the female labor
force is reduced, but most of those reductions are from the
bottom part of distribution (restaurant servers and retail
workers, for instance), then women's wages relative to men's
will rise.
This manifests as an overall rise in women's wages. And
that's what happened here.
But underneath the top-line number, Dr. Mason pointed out,
many, many lower-paid female workers are struggling.
What should companies do about it?
Closing the wage gap demands an investment of time and
resources.
First, companies can audit workers' pay and collect data to
determine the levels of disparity between their male and
female workers, said Serena Fong, a vice president at
Catalyst. Salesforce, for example, committed to reviewing all
its workers' salaries in 2015, and over the following years
spent more than $9 million on adjustments to give women equal
pay.
Salary bands, which give the range of pay for a given role,
can also help level the playing field between male and female
workers in salary negotiations. (Though broadly speaking, a
wide salary band can provide ``too much range to pay people
unequally,'' Dr. Mason said.)
And governments?
The Equal Pay Act, passed nearly 60 years ago, made it
illegal to discriminate by sex in setting wages. But in
practice, it can be hard for women to know whether they're
actually being paid equally. It's not common to ask your
colleagues what they make while you're chatting by the water
cooler.
In the last decade, more than a dozen states and the
District of Columbia have adopted legislation prohibiting pay
secrecy in the workplace. Still, a 2017-18 survey found that
nearly half of fulltime workers were discouraged or
prohibited from talking about their pay, meaning more
legislation and enforcement is needed.
Ms. Churches also supports passing the Paycheck Fairness
Act at a federal level, ``so we can ban the use of salary
history questions in the hiring process.'' Such questions
``just compound women's lack of earnings going forward as
they negotiate their salaries.''
And individuals?
Ask your colleagues how much they make, as awkward as that
may sound.
Negotiation is also key. Research shows that women who
consistently negotiate their salaries make more than $1
million more over the course of their lifetimes, compared
with those who don't. But of course, Covid hasn't helped: A
new survey from Ann Elizabeth Konkel of Indeed suggests women
feel even more uncomfortable asking for a raise or promotion
than they did prepandemic.
Mr. Speaker, on the anniversary of Women's Equal Pay Day, U.S. women's soccer player Megan Rapinoe, in a congressional hearing said: ``One cannot simply outperform inequality.''
Wage discrimination isn't limited to any one sector or income level, and Congress must act to stop it.
Mr. Speaker, the importance of this issue is really about the proper enforcement of a bill that was first enacted in 1963. We generally agree on the importance of that legislation.
Where we disagree is enforcement. And we have had years to see what the proper disincentives are and incentives for proper behavior when it comes to protecting women in the workforce, and on the second bill-- predominantly women--but people who work in vulnerable positions where they are subject to greater violence.
On pay equity, we look at States like California where I am from, and we can see that our laws, our aggressive laws have worked, at least to help with the pay equity situation. Who can deny, in our lifetimes, the benefit to the U.S. economy, to all of us, for having women in the workforce? We should be able to compensate that benefit that we have all gotten.
As a survivor of cancer, I have been taken by how many young women went into the medical profession, and they helped to develop the medicine that has saved my life, a disease that, 15 years ago, at stage IV, when I was diagnosed, there was little that could be done to extend people's lives. That research came from brilliant people, many of them women. Why would I want to inhibit or disincentivize any young person, any woman, any young woman from going into that field?
I know that my friend from Texas knows this, we want the best and the brightest to help with our medical challenges, irrespective of what their background is or what their sex is.
Mr. Speaker, every day we wait to pass these bills, healthcare workers are being harmed and families are going deeper and deeper into poverty. Our inequality issues get worse, not better. We should not waste another moment.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the previous question.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.