Weekly Republican Address - April 12, 2014

There was plenty of talk in Washington this week about equal pay.

The thing is – it was just that: more talk.

As a woman who worked at McDonald’s to get through college...as the mom of two young daughters…and as the elected representative of thousands of hardworking women, I have always supported equal pay for equal work.

And if a woman is being paid less than a man because of gender discrimination, that is both wrong and against the law.

The protections provided to women and others in the Equal Pay Act must be enforced to make certain there is no pay disparity because of discrimination.

But for women across America, it’s not just about equal pay.

It’s about achieving a better life.

And Republicans are acting on solutions to make that happen.

Solutions that will empower women and eliminate barriers they face to better jobs, better paychecks, and better lives.

Unfortunately, the president’s economy is doing exactly the opposite.

The unemployment rate for women rose last month – meanwhile, growth is slow and wages are stagnant.

Washington overreaches so much that employers have little choice but to lower wages rather than increase them – to reduce hiring rather than expand.

This has to change. So instead of politicizing women, let’s celebrate the extraordinarily positive role they play in our economy – and focus on how we can further expand that role.

• Women make up 47% of our workforce – so let’s improve job training and help connect out-of-work Americans with the skills they need.
• Women are the nation’s leading consumers – so let’s have a real all-of-the-above energy policy that helps lower bills on everything from gas to groceries.
• They make the majority of health care decisions for their families – so let’s make reforms that lower costs and preserve peace of mind in retirement.
• They are starting two out of three small businesses – so let’s rein in red tape and start overhauling the tax code to support our innovators and manufacturers.
• And women juggle life, work, and everything in between – so let’s give workers the option of using their overtime toward paid time off if that’s what they’d rather have.

The House has acted on each of these ideas as part of Republicans’ long-term plan for jobs and growth.

We hope the president and his party’s leaders in the Senate will consider them.

In the weeks ahead, Republicans will act on more solutions to help Americans from all walks of life – young and old, white collar and blue collar, women and men.

Because we are all in this together.

We all want our children to have every opportunity to succeed, to be able to work hard and turn their dreams into reality.

That is the gap we should all be focused on closing.

Let’s rise to these responsibilities, and let’s work together to leave a better, stronger America than the one we found. Thank you for listening.

Speech from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhpE67wDVUk.