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[Pages S3301-S3302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Equal Pay
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, later this afternoon, the U.S. women's
soccer team will begin its quest for another World Cup title with its
opening match against Thailand. As the entire Nation cheers them on as
they take the field, I want to shine a light today on an issue the
women's national team has been fighting for off the field: pay equity.
The women make just as much of a sacrifice, put in just as much mental
and physical energy, absorb just as much risk of injury as the men who
play for the national team. Yet when you break it down, a women's
national soccer team player earns a base salary of $3,600 per game
while a men's player earns $5,000. Over the course of a season, if both
the men's and women's teams have the same record, a male player could
earn $30,000 more than his female counterpart.
Female soccer players who earn the privilege of representing their
country on the world stage get a much smaller bonus, $15,000, than male
soccer players who earn the same privilege, $55,000. When a woman's
national team wins a World Cup, something the U.S. women have done
three times--with some New York State players helping--it wins a
percentage of what a men's team gets if it wins at all, something the
U.S. men have never done.
For the sake of comparison, U.S. soccer awarded the men's national
team a $5.4 million performance bonus for losing in the round of 16 in
the 2014 World Cup. It awarded the women $1.7 million for winning the
World Cup.
Let me repeat that so you get the contrast. The women won the Cup and
were given $1.7 million. The men got into the final 16 and got $5.4
million. That is discrimination staring us all in the face.
This is an issue of basic fairness. Performances aside--and the women
have been excellent and often dominant over the past two decades--we
shouldn't reward women less for doing the same work as men. We
shouldn't say to generations of girls and boys who look up to these
talented stars that women's
[[Page S3302]]
sports is in any way ``less than'' because it is not. These women, who
inspire our country with their poise, tenacity, skill, and excellence
every time they take the field, deserve to be fairly compensated.
Right now, the Senate could take a meaningful step to support the
women's international team by passing legislation that aims to end
gender-based wage discrimination. The House passed a paycheck fairness
bill months ago, which languished here in the Senate in Leader
McConnell's legislative graveyard. Bill after bill comes from the
House, has the support of large percentages of Americans, gets
Republican support in the House, and Leader McConnell just lets them
lie there--another tombstone in the graveyard.
As the women of Team USA take the field today, I call on Leader
McConnell to bring up the House legislation already passed that would
aid in their fight for equal pay.
I will be rooting for Team USA women to kick off their campaign with
a win against Thailand.
