Congressman Cleaver Calls for Passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – As we mark Equal Pay Day today, Congressman Cleaver is once again calling for the passage of the critical Paycheck Fairness Act, highlighting that more needs to be done to close the wage gap that still exists between women and men. Equal Pay Day symbolizes when, more than three months into the year, women's wages finally catch up to what men were paid in the previous year.

"According to the National Women's Law Center, the women in our state of Missouri still earn only 77.4 cents for every dollar earned by men," said Congressman Cleaver. "And nationwide women earn only 79 cents for every dollar earned by men, putting Missouri behind the national average, despite the fact that the Equal Pay Act will mark its 53nd anniversary in June.  Indeed, a new study finds that women won't see pay equity with men until 2059 based on the rate that the pay gap has been closing since 1960."

"Today, women make up about half of the workforce and it's wrong that on average they are still being paid less than men," Congressman Cleaver pointed out.  "A woman deserves equal pay for equal work.  While women's role in our economy has changed dramatically, America's workplaces have simply not kept up."

"I am a proud cosponsor, along with every other House Democrat, of the critical Paycheck Fairness Act, which is designed to help women finally achieve equal pay for equal work, by strengthening and closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963," Congressman Cleaver stated.

The Paycheck Fairness Act is a central pillar of the House Democrats' When Women Succeed, America Succeeds: An Economic Agenda for Women and Families. Among its many provisions, it prohibits employer retaliation for sharing salary information with coworkers; requires employers to show that pay disparity is truly job-related, not based on gender; strengthens remedies for women experiencing pay discrimination; and empowers women in the workplace through a grant program to strengthen salary negotiation and other workplace skills.

"This Equal Pay Day, I am calling on all Members of Congress to start working together to do something real about closing the wage gap – by taking up the Paycheck Fairness Act for full consideration," Congressman Cleaver concluded. "Equal pay is not simply a woman's issue – it is a family issue.  When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families. We should not rest until we achieve true pay equity for women – ensuring that all American women in the workforce are receiving equal pay for equal work."

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Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and also a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.

For more information, please contact Heather Frierson at 816-842-4545 or Heather.Frierson@mail.house.gov.