Clinton Urges Higher Wages for Women

President Clinton on Monday appealed to members of Congress to “do the right thing” by closing the wage gap between working women and men. He suggested they could start by approving his $27-million plan to bolster enforcement of equal-pay laws.

“I made this request last year, and Congress failed to pass it,” Clinton said at a White House ceremony. “I hope you will help us do this.”

But the chairmen of two House committees that deal with work-force issues noted that money for equal employment enforcement already is at its highest level ever. They accused Clinton of trying to gain a political advantage by timing his announcement to coincide with the Iowa presidential caucuses.

“It is no accident that he has repackaged an initiative that went nowhere last year and unveiled it on the day that the election season officially begins,” Reps. William F. Goodling (R-Pa.) and John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a joint statement.

The president coupled his appeal with a request for Congress to approve a paycheck-fairness act proposed by Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.), which would direct federal agencies to collect data about wage disparities and increase penalties for violating equal-pay statutes.

Women earn an average of 75 cents for every $1 men are paid, a disparity Clinton has noted in the past as evidence of social injustice. For women of color, he said, the disparity is even greater: 64 cents for black women and 55 cents for Latinas.

Under Clinton’s plan, $10 million would go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to train up to 3,000 employers and 1,000 staff inspectors on equal-pay laws.