"There are many employers in our area and throughout the nation that should be commended for their progressive actions in promoting equal pay regardless of gender.  However, this Report, issued by The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that we still have much more work to do to ensure that female workers are being paid an equal amount as their male equivalents for the same amount of work," said Rep. Andrews. "The present Equal Pay Act does not have remedies strong enough to prevent the wage gap.  We need to make discrimination against women too expensive to sustain, " Andrews said.

According to a recent report released by The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide women are earning on average, 76.5% as much as their male counterparts for the same types of work.  Here in New Jersey salaries are not much better.  On average, a women working in the Garden State earns 77.8% as much as her male counterpart for the same job which ranks New Jersey 13th overall throughout the country.  The report also demonstrates that if single mothers earned as much as comparable men, their income rates would rise by 17% cutting their poverty rates from 25% to 12 %. 

In order to ensure that women in the workplace are being compensated fairly, Rep. Andrews, a senior member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which oversees employment laws, has cosponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 2389, which would amend existing laws to provide a woman with more remedies to combat against discrimination without risk of retribution from her employer. Under the bill, a person victimized by gender discrimination would be able to recover punitive damages, instead of being limited to compensatory damages, as under the present law.  

Andrews also authored a letter urging that funding for the EEOC be increased from $280 Million in the present year to $322 million in the new fiscal year beginning October 1 which would have reduced the current caseload backlog from 45,000 to 28,400.  Despite Andrews request for a $42 million increase the actual amount was limited to ten million due to Republican opposition in the House. As such, current case load backlog will increase to 53,000.  Rep. Andrews has pledged to push for this increase again next year and hope for better results if the Democrats are in the majority in The House of Representatives.
<MORE>
As part of an entire day devoted to the advancement in the quality of life of women Rep. Andrews first hosted a meeting with officials from the Cherry Hill Immigration and Naturalization Service to highlight his legislation to prevent "deadbeat dads" from obtaining passports until they pay their child support.  Congressman Andrews's legislation would empower INS officials to refuse to grant passports to these estranged fathers who are more than $2,500 in arrears in child support to prevent them from leaving the country to flee their responsibility to their children The legislation is part of an initiative slated for consideration by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Next, Rep. Andrews met with staff members of the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies clinic in Camden to solicit from them ideas on how to improve upon this highly successful program that promotes the prenatal health of low income mothers to prevent complications throughout their pregnancy and after the babies birth.  To date, New Jersey has received $1.6 million in federal dollars for this program.   

Rep. Andrews continued on to meet with staff members of People Acting to Stop Abuse (PASA), a non-profit organization that provides assistance to women who are victims of rape, incest and other forms of abuse.  PASA, through federal funding, provides women and their children a safe, clean home-like environment in which to be counseled, receive job training and placement so that they can get back on their feet to become self-sufficient.  PASA serves approximately 75 women each month either through walk-in service or through their 24-hour hotline (856) 881-3335.   Andrews also highlighted legislative efforts to overturn a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the rights of women to sue their abusers in federal court in most cases.

Concluding his day devoted to the advancement in the quality of life of women, Congressman Andrews met with medical professionals of the Women's Cancer Screening Project of Camden County (WCSP) based at Cooper Hospital in Camden to highlight a $195,000 federally funded breast and cervical cancer-screening program for economically disadvantaged women age forty and older who live in Camden County.  Each year, the WCSP screens over 500 women for breast and cervical cancer.  Additionally, the organization is responsible for over 24 educational seminars to educate women on the risks of these diseases and the benefits of early detection.

"We applaud Rep. Andrews and other members of Congress who are taking the lead for women and their families," said Barbara Irvine, on behalf of the National Council of Women's Organizations.  "A vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act is a vote for the women of New Jersey and the women of America.  We are proud to lend our wholehearted support."

Congressman Andrews has been a leading proponent in the fight for women's rights throughout his ten years in Congress.  He has pledged that if the House has a Democratic majority next year, as then Chairman of the subcommittee that oversees employee-employer relations, he will schedule a vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act H.R. 2389 and continue to push for its passage.  
 

# # #