Women Work! The National Network for Women's Employment
August 6, 2008

In This Issue
Overhauled Higher Education Act Passes Congress, Is Sent to President
Paycheck Fairness Act is Passed by House
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Overhauled Higher Education Act Passes Congress, Is Sent to President
 
The Higher Education Act reauthorization - the first comprehensive overhaul of federal higher education policy in over a decade - cleared its Conference Committee last week and was passed by both houses of Congress, setting it up for President Bush's signature. The rewrite contains several provisions that would affect low-wage working women's access to postsecondary education.
 
The Act had been up for renewal for several years when the 110th Congress finally began work on it. After the House and Senate passed their separate versions of the bill, progress was bogged down for several months at the Conference Committee level. Multiple extensions of the current legislation were necessary before the differences could be successfully hammered out.
 
The new Act would significantly increase the maximum federal Pell grant for low-income students as well as simplify the application for federal financial aid. Importantly for working students, the bill would allow Pell grants to be awarded year-round. The reauthorization would also expand eligibility for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, which funds child care for low-income students.
 
One exciting new provision would authorize funding for pilot programs aimed at increasing college persistence and success. These pilot programs would provide support services, based on tested strategies, for parenting students and other special populations to help them complete their degrees or certificates. Funded programs could include scholarships, counseling, child care, transportation, and other services designed to improve student retention and success.
 
Despite some objections, President Bush is expected to sign the Higher Education Act reauthorization within the next few weeks.
Paycheck Fairness Act is Passed by House
While the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act remains in limbo in the Senate, the House acted decisively last week to pass a different measure designed to promote pay equity. The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338) would update and strengthen the landmark Equal Pay Act signed into law by President Kennedy in 1963. Key provisions of the Paycheck Fairness Act would: 
  • Hold gender-based pay discrimination to the same standard as discrimination by race or ethnicity, which means that employers convicted of gender discrimination would be liable for the same stringent penalties.
  • Allow gender discrimination claims to take the form of a class action suit - important because class actions provide relief for everyone injured by the unlawful practice, as opposed to just the claimant.
  • Prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their coworkers.
  • Require the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to collect pay data and increase training for EEOC and other government workers that will help them enforce anti-discrimination laws.
  • Establish a competitive grant program for Salary Negotiation Skills Training, integrated into federal education and job training programs, to help women and girls better negotiate their compensation packages. 
The Paycheck Fairness Act is a multi-pronged approach to mitigating the problem of pay discrimination, which remains a major cause of the gender wage gap and contributes to the high poverty rate of American women and their families. The House passed the Act 247 votes to 148, but the Senate version of the bill (S. 766) has yet to move out of committee. Unfortunately, both the Bush Administration and many business lobbies have come out against the Act.
 
In a statement, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the bill's sponsor, hailed its passage after eleven years in Congress. "[The Paycheck Fairness Act] is about ensuring that women who work hard and productively and carry a full range of family responsibilities are paid at a rate they are entitled," she said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) added, "Equal pay is an issue of fundamental fairness. But, as families grapple with difficult economic times, equal pay for equal work is often about daily survival for millions of families." The National Committee on Pay Equity calculates that the average working woman stands to lose $250,000 over the course of her career because of unequal pay practices.