Congressional Briefs: Lee Calls for Pay Equity for Women

July 22, 2008, 3 a.m. - Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) joined Lilly Ledbetter and several members of Congress in calling for immediate action on the “The Paycheck Fairness Act and the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act.”

For every dollar men earned in 2006, women earned 77 cents. The wage gap is most severe for women of color. Of full-time workers, African American women's median weekly earnings ($429) were only 64 percent of the earnings of white men ($669) in the year 2000. In one year, the average African American woman earns approximately $12,000 less than the average white man does. Over a 35-year career, this adds up to $420,000.

“We have made strides in closing the wage gap between women and men, but as these numbers indicate, we still have a very long way to go,” said Lee. “It is absolutely unconscionable and inexcusable that women and especially minority women earn a fraction of what men earn for the same job. We must put an end to this unfair treatment and workplace discrimination and we must redouble our efforts to do it.”

The Supreme Court delivered a blow to the fight against workplace discrimination for women, and all American workers, when it ruled on Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. one year ago that workers are barred from filing pay discrimination claims more than 180 days after an employer first decides to discriminate, even when the discrimination continues.

“Lilly Ledbetter stands for women all over this country and symbolizes our fight for justice in pay and our efforts to end the discrimination which is still far too prevalent in this country. Let’s stand up for all the Lilly Ledbetter’s out there and all the women who deserve equity and fairness in the workplace by making the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act the law of the land,” said Lee.

Rep. John Lewis Applauds House Override of President's Medicare Veto

Rep. John Lewis issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to override President Bush's veto of H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for
Patients and Providers Act of 2008. 

"By overriding the President's veto today," Lewis said, "the U.S. House of Representatives took a first step, among others that
must follow, to preserve, protect, and improve the Medicare system.  As representatives of the people, we have a moral obligation to do what is
right, what is fair, and what is just.  We must not cut payments to physicians.  We must defend access to healthcare for seniors, the
disabled, and others beneficiaries of Medicare.  While we are spending billions of taxpayer dollars in Iraq for little gain, we could be using
those valuable resources to secure the lives of millions of Americans. I applaud the work of my colleagues today who came together in a
bi-partisan fashion to take a stand for the people of this nation.

As part of her continuing oversight begun last year of District Code felons, ex-offenders and parolees under federal jurisdiction, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) testified at a hearing late last week for her bill to extend the U.S. Parole Commission for three years beyond its current expiration date of November 1, 2008. Currently, the Parole Commission has oversight of more than 9,000 D.C. offenders, and more than 2,000 more federal felons. However, Norton sharply criticized the refusal of the Justice Department to agree to permanent authorization of “this federal agency with a vital continuing federal mission.” Besides the inefficient and counterproductive use of congressional time, Norton said the coming deadline had disrupted the work of the commission and put public safety at risk. Next year, she will again seek a permanent reauthorization of the Commission.

Also, at Norton’s request, the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security heard testimony from a D.C. resident, Horace Crenshaw, who was re-incarcerated and lost years of “good time,” which then added to his years on parole. However, following his second infraction, the Parole Board used a sanction procedure that included drug rehabilitation, allowing him to keep his job. Norton is working on a bill to bring the U.S. Parole Commission’s procedures in line with best practices.

(The writer is a former Washington Times reporter, which is also a Unification Church media property).