Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) praised the President's endorsement of the Paycheck Fairness Act and his call for the Senate to pass the Legislation, which will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and ensure that women are paid equally for their work. Echoing recommendations issued today by the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force, the President urged the Senate to take up the legislation originally introduced by Congresswoman DeLauro in 1997. Passed by the House of Representatives last year, the bill now awaits action in the Senate.

"In America today, women make up half of our workforce--and yet, they still only make 77 cents on the dollar as compared to men. And if you look at this statistic even closer, you find that African American women make 61 cents on the dollar, and Hispanic women only make 52 cents. In 2010, an incredible 47 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act, which was supposed to ensure equal pay for equal work, and 13 years after I first introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, these numbers are shocking," DeLauro said.

DeLauro said in a press release that the entire economy is being impacted by this continued pay discrimination because more women are the bread winners for their families.

"By giving this legislation the real teeth it needs, through pay justification, prohibiting retaliation concerning salary information, and enforcing punitive and compensatory damages, we can ensure that this workplace inequity ends," Delauro said.