Introduced in House — H.Con.Res. 81

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. CON. RES. 81

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 26, 2026

Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida (for herself, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Amo, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Barragán, Mr. Bell, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Bishop, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Brown, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Budzinski, Ms. Bynum, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carson, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Correa, Mr. Costa, Ms. Craig, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. DeGette, Ms. DelBene, Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Dexter, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Elfreth, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Friedman, Mr. Frost, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Goodlander, Mr. Green of Texas, Mrs. Grijalva, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jacobs, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Keating, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Latimer, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Lee of Nevada, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Magaziner, Mr. Mannion, Ms. Matsui, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Ms. McClellan, Ms. McCollum, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Menefee, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Meng, Mr. Min, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Morelle, Ms. Morrison, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Neal, Ms. Norton, Mr. Olszewski, Ms. Omar, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Peters, Ms. Pettersen, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Pou, Mr. Quigley, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Riley of New York, Ms. Rivas, Ms. Ross, Mr. Ruiz, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Schneider, Ms. Scholten, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Simon, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Soto, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Stanton, Ms. Stevens, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Swalwell, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Thompson of California, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Tonko, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Velázquez, Mr. Walkinshaw, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Adams, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Ms. Sánchez, and Mr. Subramanyam) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity between wages paid to men and women.

Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)) prohibits discrimination in compensation for equal work on the basis of sex;

Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) prohibits discrimination in compensation because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex;

Whereas more than 6 decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 206 note), Census Bureau data show that women working full-time, year-round are paid an average of 81 cents for every dollar paid to all men, while women overall, including part-time and seasonal workers, are paid just 76 cents for every dollar paid to men, Latinas working full-time, year-round are paid 58 cents, American Indian and Alaska Native women are paid 58 cents, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women are paid 67 cents, African-American women are paid 65 cents, White, non-Hispanic women are paid 77 cents, and Asian-American women are paid 96 cents, for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men;

Whereas March 26, 2026, is Equal Pay Day, marking the day that symbolizes how long into 2026 women must work to make what men were paid in 2025;

Whereas April 9, 2026, is observed as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day; June 17, 2026, is observed as LGBTQ+ Equal Pay Awareness Day; July 21, 2026, is observed as Black Women’s Equal Pay Day; September 15, 2626 is observed as Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day; October 8, 2026, is observed as Latinas’ Equal Pay Day; October 20, 2026, is observed as Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day; and November 19, 2026, is observed as Native Women’s Equal Pay Day;

Whereas LGBTQ+ women may face further pay disparities;

Whereas the gender wage gap has now grown for the second year in a row;

Whereas if current trends continue, Asian women are projected to close the gender pay gap for all workers, including part-time, full-time, and seasonal workers, in 19 years, White women in 50 years, Black women in 199 years, and Latinas in 153 years;

Whereas the disparity in median annual earnings for women and men working full-time, year-round is $13,570, which can add up to nearly $542,800 over a career;

Whereas women’s median earnings are less than men’s at every level of academic achievement, with women with less than a high school diploma being paid 78 percent of men’s earnings, and women with a professional degree being paid 87 percent of men’s earnings at the same level of education;

Whereas women are often paid less than men with lower levels of education, with women with associate’s degrees paid less than men with a high school diploma, women with master’s degrees paid less than men with bachelor’s degrees, and women with doctorate degrees paid less than men with master’s degrees;

Whereas in the United States, mothers working full-time and all year typically are paid 74 cents for every dollar paid to fathers, and disabled women working full-time and all year typically are paid 68 cents for every dollar paid to non-disabled men.

Whereas the gender wage gap collectively costs women employed full-time and all year in the United States more than $1,182,864,800,000 in annual lost wages, so that families have less money to spend on goods and services that help drive economic growth;

Whereas if the annual gender wage gap were eliminated for just 1 year, on average, a working woman in the United States would have enough money for approximately 13 months of childcare, nearly 10 additional months of rent, more than 7 additional months of mortgage payments, almost 3 semesters of tuition and fees for a 4-year public university or the full cost of tuition and fees for attending a 2-year college, 8 additional months of premiums for employer-based health insurance, more than 17 months of food, 62 percent of the maximum annual individual 401(k) contribution, or enough money to pay off student loan debt in less than 3 years;

Whereas women hold nearly two-thirds of the Nation’s outstanding student loan debt, totaling over $929,000,000,000, and are less likely to be able to pay off their student loan debt promptly due to wage disparities;

Whereas the wage gap impacts women’s ability to save for retirement and women’s total Social Security and pension benefits, and older women are more likely than men to live in poverty;

Whereas sex-based wage differentials reduce family incomes and contribute to the higher poverty rates among women and their families;

Whereas a wage gap exists in nearly every occupational field, but opening traditionally male-dominated jobs to women and reducing occupational segregation by sex increases earnings for women;

Whereas nearly two-thirds of workers paid the minimum wage or less are women, and the concentration of women in low-wage jobs is a significant contributor to the wage gap;

Whereas the gender wage gap between union women and men is about three-quarters the size of the wage gap between nonunion women and men, and women union members typically are paid $241 more per week than women who are not represented by unions;

Whereas two-thirds of private sector workers report that employers either prohibit or discourage them from discussing their pay, which can keep the existence of pay discrimination hidden and prevent remedying that discrimination;

Whereas the lack of family friendly policies, such as access to affordable, quality childcare, paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, and fair and predictable work schedules, forces many caregivers to choose between providing for their families financially and ensuring their loved ones receive quality care, and contributes to the wage gap;

Whereas at least 1 in 3 women have experienced sexual harassment during their careers, and an estimated 87 to 94 percent of those who experience sexual harassment never file a formal complaint;

Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave their occupation or industry, or pass up opportunities for advancement, and this contributes to the gender wage gap;

Whereas equal pay strengthens the economic security of families and enhances retirement savings;

Whereas when women are paid fairly, families are stronger, businesses prosper, and American values and the economy are strengthened; and

Whereas numerous national organizations have designated Thursday, March 26, 2026, as Equal Pay Day to represent the additional time that women must work to compensate for the on average lower wages paid to women working full-time, year-round last year: Now, therefore, be it

That Congress—

(1)

recognizes the disparity between wages paid to women and men and its impact on women, families, and the Nation; and

(2)

reaffirms its commitment to supporting equal pay and to narrowing the gender wage gap.