Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today urged his Senate colleagues to take up and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would help close the pay gap between women and men working the same jobs. Today marks Equal Pay Day, which represents how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year.

“All Americans, regardless of their gender or where they came from, deserve to be compensated fully for their hard work. While we’ve made progress to make compensation more fair, Equal Pay Day still serves as an important reminder that we have more work to do. As a husband and father of three girls, I want them to be fairly recognized alongside their male counterparts for the work that they do.

“The Paycheck Fairness Act will help better align these ideals to reality. Equal pay for equal work is not only the right thing to do, it’s also good for our economy. At a time when more Colorado families than ever depend on two incomes, the idea that women are making less for the same work is unacceptable. The Senate should pass this bill to help address that injustice.”

Bennet is a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would protect employees from retaliation for making inquiries or disclosures concerning employee wages. The bill would also seek to enhance data collection, research, and training with regard to pay discrimination. A small minority of senators have blocked earlier versions of the bill in previous sessions of Congress.