E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012 No. 82 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, at 12 p.m. Senate MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012 The Senate met at 2 p.m. and was APPOINTMENT OF ACTING Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are now called to order by the Honorable RICH- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE on the motion to proceed to this meas- ARD BLUMENTHAL, a Senator from the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ure called the Paycheck Fairness Act. State of Connecticut. clerk will please read a communication At 5 p.m. this afternoon the Senate to the Senate from the President pro will proceed to executive session to PRAYER tempore (Mr. INOUYE). consider the nomination of Timothy The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- The bill clerk read the following let- Hillman to be U.S. District Judge for fered the following prayer: ter: Massachusetts. There will be 30 min- utes of debate at that time led by Sen- Let us pray. U.S. SENATE, Eternal God, whose presence is the PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, ator LEAHY. At 5:30 p.m., there will be source of our strength, as we return Washington, DC, June 4, 2012. a rollcall vote on confirmation of the from Memorial Day recess, we pause to To the Senate: Hillman nomination. thank You for those who have made Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, MEASURE PLACED ON THE CALENDAR— the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby S.J. RES. 41 appoint the Honorable RICHARD BLUMEN- we enjoy. Please hold all our service Mr. REID. Mr. President, S.J. Res. 41 THAL, a Senator from the State of Con- is at the desk and now due for a second men and women in Your strong arms, necticut, to perform the duties of the Chair. reading. protecting them from dangers seen and DANIEL K. INOUYE, unseen. Bless the families of our serv- President pro tempore. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- pore. The clerk will read the joint reso- icemembers, fill their lives with Your Mr. BLUMENTHAL thereupon as- peace and provision, strengthening lution by title for the second time. sumed the chair as Acting President The bill clerk read as follows: them to trust in Your mighty power to pro tempore. sustain them. A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 41) expressing f the sense of Congress regarding the nuclear Help our Senators this day to live program of the Government of the Islamic lives worthy of Your goodness and RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER Republic of Iran. grace. May they discover that real ful- Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would ob- fillment comes when they seek to glo- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- ject to any further proceedings with re- rify You. Place Your hand on the Sen- pore. The majority leader is recog- spect to this joint resolution. ators’ shoulders today, reminding them nized. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- that You are with them and will guide f pore. Objection having been heard, the them. PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT— bill will be placed on the calendar. We pray in Your great Name. MOTION TO PROCEED Mr. REID. Mr. President, back in Amen. 1963, when Congress passed the Equal Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to Pay Act, women at that time were f proceed to Calendar No. 410, S. 3220. working year-round and took home The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- about 59 cents for every dollar paid to pore. The clerk will report. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE their male coworkers doing the same The bill clerk read as follows: The Honorable RICHARD BLUMENTHAL job. While passage of that landmark Motion to proceed to S. 3220, a bill to legislation helped narrow the pay gap, led the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the to provide more effective remedies to vic- today American women still only take United States of America, and to the Repub- tims of discrimination in the payment of home 77 cents on the dollar compared lic for which it stands, one nation under God, wages on the basis of sex, and for other pur- to their male colleagues for doing the indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. poses. exact same job. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S3669 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 02:33 Jun 05, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04JN6.000 S04JNPT1 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with SENATE S3670 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 4, 2012 Jane, who works in a job, gets 77 This law, the Lilly Ledbetter legisla- ing the pay gap is more important than cents, while Jack, who also works at tion, makes it possible for victims of ever. No woman working to support that job, gets $1. That is why women gender discrimination to successfully herself or her family should be paid are concerned about how they are challenge unequal pay even if the in- less than a male counterpart. They are being treated. It is simply not fair that discretion has been going on for years. doing the same job, so they should be any woman working the same hours at Despite that achievement in the last paid the same. the same job should make less money. Congress, there is a great deal of work Some employers have taken advan- Often these inequities stretch over to be done to ensure that American tage of women, knowing they would decades, and many women don’t even women earn comparable pay for a day’s work for less. It might be a single par- know they are victims. It took one Las work. It is crucial that we pass the bill ent, and they have said: We don’t have Vegas woman 15 years to find out she that is now before this body, the Pay- to pay her what we pay him. Now with made $20,000 per year less than her check Fairness Act. It is common all of this going on, with the examples male colleagues although she did the sense. It would give workers stronger I have given, the Republicans are fili- same work and worked just as hard. tools to combat wage discrimination, bustering this bill. They will not even That is $20,000 a year over 15 years. She bar retaliation against workers for dis- let us vote on it. But what else is new? was paid about 66 cents on the dollar cussing salary information, and help They have filibustered even what they compared to her male coworkers de- ensure more adequate compensation agree with. They don’t agree with this. spite being a top sales associate with a for victims with gender-based pay dis- They don’t want women to make the Las Vegas payroll company. crimination. same amount of money, so they are Over the decade and a half she I am fortunate that I have five chil- filibustering this bill—they are filibus- worked there, her employers cheated dren. My oldest is my daughter. She tering even letting us get on the bill. her out of literally hundreds of thou- was a good student and a wonderful They are filibustering what is called a sands of dollars’ worth of pay. Why? daughter. No one could be a better motion-to-proceed rule that I think Because she is a woman. Her story, daughter than my daughter Lana. She needs to be changed in this body, and it though, has a happy ending. She got a graduated from college, and she came will someday. lawyer, settled out of court, and has to Washington to spend some time with They are filibustering the Paycheck now gone on with her own successful her parents before she decided what she Fairness Act. This legislation would business. wanted to do permanently. She went help even the playing field for women But many victims don’t have that around looking for a job on Capitol in the workplace. If it seems unbeliev- happy ending. Many victims of years or Hill. able that the Republicans would block even decades of gender-based pay dis- The first question every person she such a commonsense measure. Consider crimination have nothing to be happy interviewed with asked was, Do you their track record in this Congress. Re- about. The average woman who works type? Can you imagine that? She could publicans have blocked legislation to type. How do you start a debate with full time, year-round in Nevada makes hire more teachers, cops, firefighters, that? They asked her that because she $7,300 less than a man doing the same and first responders. They blocked is a woman. Women get an unfair job. I am sure, Mr. President, it is that. They stalled important jobs shake in modern-day America, and we about the same in Connecticut. measures such as the aviation bill. The Although the wage gap has narrowed are trying to do something about it. We want workers to have stronger FAA bill had 22 extensions. They fi- in the last half century since Congress tools to combat wage discrimination. nally got it done, but it was so hard. declared women are entitled to equal We want to bar retaliation against The FAA was closed down on one occa- pay for equal work, gender discrimina- workers for discussing salary informa- sion for a week.