Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HCR21 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	IV
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. CON. RES. 21
5	5	Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity between wages
6	6	paid to men and women.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	MARCH25, 2025
9	9	Ms. L
10	10	OISFRANKELof Florida (for herself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. WILLIAMSof
11	11	Georgia, Ms. L
12	12	EGERFERNANDEZ, Ms. BALINT, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs.
13	13	B
14	14	EATTY, Mr. BELL, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BISHOP, Ms. BONAMICI,
15	15	Mr. B
16	16	OYLEof Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms.
17	17	B
18	18	UDZINSKI, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTERof Louisiana, Ms.
19	19	C
20	20	ASTORof Florida, Mr. CASTROof Texas, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK,
21	21	Ms. C
22	22	HU, Ms. CLARKEof New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr.
23	23	C
24	24	ORREA, Mr. COSTA, Mr. DAVISof Illinois, Ms. DEANof Pennsylvania,
25	25	Ms. D
26	26	EGETTE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DELUZIO, Ms. DEXTER, Mrs. DIN-
27	27	GELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ELFRETH, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. EVANSof Penn-
28	28	sylvania, Mr. F
29	29	IELDS, Mr. FOSTER, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. FROST, Mr.
30	30	G
31	31	ARAMENDI, Ms. GARCIAof Texas, Mr. GOLDMANof New York, Mr.
32	32	V
33	33	ICENTEGONZALEZof Texas, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. GREENof Texas,
34	34	Mr. H
35	35	UFFMAN, Mr. JACKSONof Illinois, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. JOHNSONof
36	36	Georgia, Ms. J
37	37	OHNSONof Texas, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KAPTUR,
38	38	Mr. K
39	39	EATING, Ms. KELLYof Illinois, Mr. KENNEDYof New York, Mr.
40	40	K
41	41	HANNA, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. LARSENof Wash-
42	42	ington, Mr. L
43	43	ARSONof Connecticut, Mr. LATIMER, Ms. LEEof Pennsyl-
44	44	vania, Ms. L
45	45	EEof Nevada, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MAGAZINER, Mr. MANNION,
46	46	Ms. M
47	47	ATSUI, Ms. MCBRIDE, Mrs. MCCLAINDELANEY, Ms. MCCLELLAN,
48	48	Ms. M
49	49	CCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Mr.
50	50	M
51	51	ORELLE, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEAL,
52	52	Ms. N
53	53	ORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. OLSZEWSKI, Ms. OMAR, Mr.
54	54	P
55	55	ALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PETERS, Ms. PETTERSEN, Ms. PINGREE,
56	56	Mr. P
57	57	OCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. RANDALL, Mr. RASKIN,
58	58	Ms. R
59	59	OSS, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHA-
60	60	KOWSKY, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Mr. DAVIDSCOTTof Georgia,
61	61	Mr. S
62	62	COTTof Virginia, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. SIMON, Mr. SMITHof Wash-
63	63	ington, Ms. S
64	64	TANSBURY, Mr. STANTON, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr.
65	65	S
66	66	UBRAMANYAM, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. SWALWELL, Mrs. SYKES, Mr.
67	67	T
68	68	HANEDAR, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mrs. TORRESof Cali-
69	69	fornia, Mr. V
70	70	ARGAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMANSCHULTZ, Mrs.
71	71	W
72	72	ATSONCOLEMAN, Ms. WILSONof Florida, and Mr. TAKANO) submitted
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75	75	•HCON 21 IH
76	76	the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee
77	77	on Education and Workforce
78	78	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
79	79	Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity
80	80	between wages paid to men and women.
81	81	Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
82	82	1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)) prohibits discrimination in com-
83	83	pensation for equal work on the basis of sex;
84	84	Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
85	85	2000e et seq.) prohibits discrimination in compensation
86	86	because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex;
87	87	Whereas, more than 6 decades after the passage of the Equal
88	88	Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 206 note), Census Bureau
89	89	data show that women working full-time, year-round are
90	90	paid an average of 83 cents for every dollar paid to all
91	91	men, while women overall, including part-time and sea-
92	92	sonal workers, are paid just 75 cents for every dollar paid
93	93	to men, and Latinas are paid 58 cents, American Indian
94	94	and Alaska Native women are paid 58 cents, Native Ha-
95	95	waiian and Pacific Islander women are paid 65 cents, Af-
96	96	rican-American women are paid 66 cents, White, non-
97	97	Hispanic women are paid 80 cents, and Asian-American
98	98	women are paid 94 cents, for every dollar paid to White,
99	99	non-Hispanic men;
100	100	Whereas March 25, 2025, is Equal Pay Day, marking the
101	101	day that symbolizes how long into 2025 women must
102	102	work to make what men were paid in 2024;
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105	105	•HCON 21 IH
106	106	Whereas April 7, 2025, is observed as Asian American, Na-
107	107	tive Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay
108	108	Day; July 10, 2025, is observed as Black Women’s Equal
109	109	Pay Day; August 28, 2025, is observed as Native Hawai-
110	110	ian Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day; October 8,
111	111	2025, is observed as Latinas’ Equal Pay Day; October
112	112	23, 2025, is observed as Disabled Women’s Equal Pay
113	113	Day; and November 18, 2025, is observed as Native
114	114	Women’s Equal Pay Day;
115	115	Whereas LGBTQI+ women and women with disabilities may
116	116	face further pay disparities;
117	117	Whereas, for the first time in 21 years, the gender wage gap
118	118	grew in 2024;
119	119	Whereas, if current trends continue, Asian women are pro-
120	120	jected to close the gender pay gap for all workers, includ-
121	121	ing part-time, full-time, and seasonal workers, in 23
122	122	years, White women in 43 years, Black women in 121
123	123	years, and Latinas in 187 years;
124	124	Whereas the disparity in median annual earnings for women
125	125	and men working full-time, year-round is $11,550, which
126	126	can add up to nearly $462,000 over a career;
127	127	Whereas women’s median earnings are less than men’s at
128	128	every level of academic achievement, with women with
129	129	less than a high school diploma being paid 71 percent of
130	130	men’s earnings, and women with a professional degree
131	131	being paid 70 percent of men’s earnings at the same level
132	132	of education;
133	133	Whereas women are often paid less than men with lower lev-
134	134	els of education, with women with associate’s degrees
135	135	paid less than men with a high school diploma, women
136	136	with master’s degrees paid less than men with bachelor’s
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139	139	•HCON 21 IH
140	140	degrees, and women with doctorate degrees paid less than
141	141	men with master’s degrees;
142	142	Whereas, in the United States, mothers working full-time and
143	143	all year typically are paid 74 percent of what fathers are
144	144	paid;
145	145	Whereas the gender wage gap collectively costs women em-
146	146	ployed full-time and all year in the United States more
147	147	than $994,000,000 in annual lost wages, so that families
148	148	have less money to spend on goods and services that help
149	149	drive economic growth;
150	150	Whereas, if the annual gender wage gap were eliminated for
151	151	just 1 year, on average, a working woman in the United
152	152	States would have enough money for approximately 13
153	153	months of childcare, more than 10 additional months of
154	154	rent, more than 7 additional months of mortgage and
155	155	utilities payments, almost 3 semesters of tuition and fees
156	156	for a 4-year public university or the full cost of tuition
157	157	and fees for attending a 2-year college, almost 9 addi-
158	158	tional months of premiums for employer-based health in-
159	159	surance, almost 75 weeks of food, more than 60 percent
160	160	of the maximum annual individual 401(k) contribution,
161	161	or enough money to pay off student loan debt in less
162	162	than 3 years;
163	163	Whereas women hold nearly two-thirds of the Nation’s out-
164	164	standing student loan debt, totaling over
165	165	$929,000,000,000, and are less likely to be able to pay
166	166	off their student loan debt promptly due to wage dispari-
167	167	ties;
168	168	Whereas the wage gap impacts women’s ability to save for re-
169	169	tirement and women’s total Social Security and pension
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172	172	•HCON 21 IH
173	173	benefits, and older women are more likely than men to
174	174	live in poverty;
175	175	Whereas sex-based wage differentials reduce family incomes
176	176	and contribute to the higher poverty rates among women
177	177	and their families;
178	178	Whereas a wage gap exists in nearly every occupational field,
179	179	but opening traditionally male-dominated jobs to women
180	180	and reducing occupational segregation by sex increases
181	181	earnings for women;
182	182	Whereas nearly two-thirds of workers paid the minimum
183	183	wage or less are women, and the concentration of women
184	184	in low-wage jobs is a significant contributor to the wage
185	185	gap;
186	186	Whereas the gender wage gap between union women and men
187	187	is about three-quarters the size of the wage gap between
188	188	nonunion women and men, and women union members
189	189	typically are paid $216 more per week than women who
190	190	are not represented by unions;
191	191	Whereas two-thirds of private sector workers report that em-
192	192	ployers either prohibit or discourage them from dis-
193	193	cussing their pay, which can keep the existence of pay
194	194	discrimination hidden and prevent remedying that dis-
195	195	crimination;
196	196	Whereas the lack of family friendly policies, such as access
197	197	to affordable, quality childcare, paid family and medical
198	198	leave, paid sick days, and fair and predictable work
199	199	schedules, forces many caregivers to choose between pro-
200	200	viding for their families financially and ensuring their
201	201	loved ones receive quality care, and contributes to the
202	202	wage gap;
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205	205	•HCON 21 IH
206	206	Whereas at least 1 in 3 women have experienced sexual har-
207	207	assment during their careers, and an estimated 87 to 94
208	208	percent of those who experience sexual harassment never
209	209	file a formal complaint;
210	210	Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave
211	211	their occupation or industry, or pass up opportunities for
212	212	advancement, and this contributes to the gender wage
213	213	gap;
214	214	Whereas equal pay strengthens the economic security of fami-
215	215	lies and enhances retirement savings;
216	216	Whereas when women are paid fairly, families are stronger,
217	217	businesses prosper, and American values and the econ-
218	218	omy are strengthened; and
219	219	Whereas numerous national organizations have designated
220	220	Tuesday, March 25, 2025, as ‘‘Equal Pay Day’’ to rep-
221	221	resent the additional time that women must work to com-
222	222	pensate for the average 17-percent lower wages paid to
223	223	women working full-time, year-round last year: Now,
224	224	therefore, be it
225	225	Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 1
226	226	concurring), That Congress— 2
227	227	(1) recognizes the disparity between wages paid 3
228	228	to women and men and its impact on women, fami-4
229	229	lies, and the Nation; and 5
230	230	(2) reaffirms its commitment to supporting 6
231	231	equal pay and to narrowing the gender wage gap. 7
232	232	Æ
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