I am writing today to say thank you to all of you who took the time to respond to my last e-mail and fill out the brief survey. Please be assured that I have read what you sent me and I am grateful for your input. I want to continue to hear from you on issues that you feel are important.
I also wanted to take the opportunity to provide you with an update on some of the issues I am working on in Washington to benefit hardworking Iowa families. I know that too many Iowans are working more and more just to make ends meet. They are not alone. According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service: "the average worker's pay rose only eight percent between 1995 and 2005, while median CEO pay at the 350 largest firms rose nearly 150 percent over the same period." Workers in the United States are no longer sharing in the prosperity that they have helped to create. That must change.
For that reason, I am working on a wide array of policy solutions to combat stagnant wages, downsized benefits, and declining buying power for hardworking Iowans. For example, with the new majority in Congress, earlier this year the Senate voted 94-3 to give low wage workers in this country a long overdue raise in the minimum wage. The bill now moves to a conference committee with the House before it heads to the President's desk to be signed in to law.
I have also been fighting to protect and improve pensions for hardworking Americans. Last year, a provision that I fought for was enacted to protect older workers who get caught up in unfair conversions from traditional pensions to so-called "cash balance" plans. This year, I will introduce legislation that will help more workers access their promised benefits and force companies that give lavish pensions to executives to provide some protection to rank and file workers.
I am also continuing my efforts to make sure that women are paid fairly. More than 40 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act, women's wages still lag behind their male counterparts' wages - women make only 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes. The average woman loses an estimated $700,000 over her lifetime due to unequal pay practices. I have introduced the Fair Pay Act to address the historic pattern of undervaluing and underpaying so-called "women's" jobs, in Congress every year since 1996.
Finally, I have been working with my colleagues to provide hardworking Americans with paid sick leave. Fifty percent of private sector workers and 76 percent of low-income workers do not have paid sick leave at their current jobs. Parents should be able to take their sick child to the doctor and workers should be able to take care of their own health and well-being without worrying about losing wages or their job.
For more information on my efforts to help working Americans make ends meet, please visit my website at
http://harkin.senate.gov. I would also encourage you to continue to send me your thoughts and opinions, whether it is about my work in Congress or an issue you are facing in Iowa. I hope you found this information helpful and you take some time to complete the survey below.
