Sacrifice - June 8, 2015

DUCKWORTH: I stand here before you today because my buddies didn't leave me behind. We should be making it easier for people who sacrifice for our country, for our families and for future -- not harder. When a woman earns less than a man for equal work, it's not just the woman who suffers, it's her entire family. Same goes for paid maternity leave. If a woman can't work full time because she doesn't get maternity leave or because she doesn't have child care, we're not just hurting that woman -- we're hurting her entire family and ultimately our entire economy. It's time for Congress to wake up and understand that these are not just women's issues. They are economic issues. Unequal pay, lack of maternity leave and lack of child care hurt every business and every family in this country, so we need to get to work and fix it. So let's protect military families from unscrupulous banks and predatory lenders. Let's recognize that our troops develop expertise and skills while serving in the military and immediately certify them for jobs here at home. And let's make it easier for middle-class families to make ends meet, save for their kids' college or open a small business, because we all benefit from an economy that's built from the ground up. We should embrace the notion that lifting one another up doesn't cost nearly as much as leaving other Americans behind.