DeLauro Applauds Committee Passage of Paycheck Fairness Act

WASHINGTON, DC (February 26, 2019) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement after the House Education and Labor Committee voted in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7), sending it for consideration on the House Floor for the third time in the last 11 years.

"I thank Chairman Scott and the entire Education and Labor Committee for their swift action to vote the Paycheck Fairness Act out of the committee. At its core, this bill is about a simple principle: women and men working in the same job deserve the same pay. We have fought for more than two decades to make that principle a reality by strengthening the Equal Pay Act. Equal pay is a matter of right and wrong, and pay discrimination is unacceptable. It is critical for working families, and we are all diminished when we fall short. I look forward to its consideration on the House Floor."

The Paycheck Fairness Act passed the House twice—first in 2008 by a vote of 247-178 and then again in 2009 by a vote of 256-163 vote. In November 2010, the Paycheck Fairness Act went to the Senate floor and failed on cloture by 2 votes, with 58 Senators voting to pass the bill.

DeLauro has introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act in every Congress since 1997. It would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by holding employers accountable for discriminatory practices, end the practice of pay secrecy, ease workers' ability to individually or jointly challenge pay discrimination, strengthen remedies for wronged employees, and prohibit employers from seeking the salary history of prospective employees. The legislation has 239 original cosponsors.