My family has been in Michigan for generations and I am proud to keep up that tradition as my wife Colleen and I raise our two daughters here. Michiganders share a set of values – a strong work ethic, integrity and fairness – that I’m happy to pass on to my daughters. But like many other parents, Colleen and I are concerned that our daughters are going to enter a workforce that doesn't reflect those same values.
Colleen and I want the very best for both of our girls. I’m inspired every day by Colleen’s strength as a mom. And I’m inspired by the strength of the moms we've met in Michigan. As we talk to Michigan women, business owners and middle class families about the issues that concern them, we hear one resounding theme – moms want fairness.
This sounds like common sense, but all too often today women are pushing forward while our policies are stuck in the past. I was privileged to cast one of my first votes in Congress to help pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and I have fought to improve pay equity throughout my life in public service. But, that is just the beginning. Equal pay is still only a dream for too many women. Mothers in Michigan and across the country need the equality in the workplace that I want for my two daughters.
Raising our daughters with Colleen has makes this a personal issue for me. She reminds me every day how special moms are and the challenges that they face. We need policies that move us forward, not those that keep hardworking moms and women in the past as they work to support their families. That’s why I championed legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act to help end gender discrimination that has no place in a modern world. I am dedicated to making sure that moms across the country won’t have to share my worry that their daughters will face the same discrimination generations of women have been fighting against.
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