For Immediate Release:

Tuesday, April 3, 2001

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Joined by a handful of Congressional colleagues, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today reintroduced the Fair Pay Act which she cosponsored in 1996 to help end the wage gap for women. The reintroduction of this bill took place on 'Equal Pay Day,' the day on which women catch up to their male colleagues in pay from the year before, and highlighting the fact that women must work for 15 months to make what men earn in 12.

"Women have made great strides in America. We have the right to vote. We have the ability to travel in space. We have the privilege of holding high elected office. But we still make only 76 cents for every dollar paid to men," Murray said.

"As a mother and a grandmother, I want my children to live in a country where my daughter can earn just as much as my son," Murray continued.

"This wage disparity is a life-long problem for women, because it follows them into retirement. Women are twice as likely to live in poverty over age 65. Women are more dependent upon Social Security for a greater percentage of their retirement income. And because of lower lifetime wages, many women are unable to contribute to private pensions or retirement savings."

As part of her continuing effort to eliminate the wage gap, Murray also took part in releasing a Department of Labor report revealing the results of a three part study on the pay gap between men and women. The report has been finished since January. Murray and her colleagues called on the Bush Administration to release the final report.