Press Release of Senator Udall UDALL CHEERS LILLY LEDBETTER LAW Senator Cosponsored Bill to Help Workers Fight Pay Discrimination Thursday, January 29, 2009           WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today released the following statement regarding President Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into Law:   “Equal work should earn equal pay and after years of fighting against workforce discrimination I am proud President Obama has signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law.     “Today, women earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man, and Hispanic women earn only 55 cents on the dollar. The wage gap undermines not only our nation's commitment to equality, but also the strength of New Mexico families. When working women are denied the pay they deserve, their families suffer, their children suffer and their communities suffer.  “In today’s America we cannot accept a system that allows workers to be paid less because of reasons like race, ethnicity or gender. We believe that workers should be judged by the quality of their work, and this law goes a long way towards making that principle a reality, not just an ideal.”