*This letter was also sent to Rep. DeLauro
March 31, 2015
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Mikulski:
On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I am writing to endorse your bill, S. 862, the Paycheck Fairness Act. This legislation aims to prevent wage discrimination from happening in the first place and help women and their families secure the paychecks they have earned.
Notably, the economic inequalities faced by women continue to threaten their retirement security because they have generally worked for lower wages due to persistent gender wage discrimination, leading to a smaller Social Security benefit. While Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963 to address gender wage discrimination, women continue to make only 77 cents on the dollar compared to men.
We support strengthening and reforming the Equal Pay Act by putting an end to pay secrecy, strengthening workers’ ability to challenge discrimination and bringing equal pay law into line with other civil rights laws.
Thank you for introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act and for your strong commitment to fighting against inequality and for retirement security. We look forward to working with you to pass this long-overdue legislation.
Sincerely,
Max Richtman
President and CEO