Congresswoman Cori Bush Votes to Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) voted in favor of H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would help close the gender wage gap by prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees for discussing wages and preventing employers from making employment or pay decisions based on a prospective employee’s wage history.
On average, a woman in America earns just $0.82 for every $1.00 a white man earns for the same work. The gender pay gap is worse for women of color. Black women earn just $0.63 to every dollar, while Latino women earn just $0.55.
Earlier today, the Congresswoman spoke on the House Floor in support of the legislation.
Below are the Congresswoman’s remarks as prepared:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker -
St. Louis and I rise in full support of H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act.
As a nurse, I earned around 60% of what my white male counterparts in the same position earned. I’ve often imagined how many people in my district experienced the same burdens, like how much overtime and missing wages we could have accrued every single month. We’ve been chronically underpaid and chronically undervalued.
I’ve stood up to fight for underpaid nurses before, and I stand here today to fight for underpaid women, especially women of color, everywhere. Pay Black, pay brown, pay Indigenous, pay AAPI women what we work. Run us our money. And run us our money now.
Thank you, and I yield back.
To watch and download the Congresswoman’s remarks, click here.
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Congresswoman Cori Bush represents Missouri’s First Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She is also a Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a proud member of the Congressional Black Caucus. She is a registered nurse, single mother, and an ordained pastor. Following the murder of Michael Brown Jr. by a now-terminated Ferguson police officer, she became a civil rights activist and community organizer fighting for justice for Black lives on the streets of Missouri and across the country.