THE HOUSE passed two related pieces of legislation last week involving women in the workplace. The Senate is expected to take up the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act today and should pass it. It should, however, rethink its twin, the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Hey, Women: Want to earn a cool half million?

That's about what the average woman loses over a career lifetime due to gender inequities in pay for the same jobs as men.

Democratic leadership in the House on a Thursday conference call -- including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, vowed to push forward with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R 12).

As early as this week , the new Congress can jumpstart the economy by passing two laws that will put more money into working women's paychecks by making sure they're paid what they're worth.

Especially if concerned citizens call on Congress to take action now, the House and Senate are poised to pass two pieces of legislation that empower working women to challenge pay discrimination:

The House will convene this week for the start of the 111th Congress, and two of the first pieces of legislation that it will discuss are the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. Women in the United States still earn only 78 cents on the dollar compared to men more than 45 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and these two bills are key to narrowing this gap.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY - Women who live alone or head their own households are bringing home - and saving - less money than the average American family.

At least that's what a recent analysis on female spending habits from the Consumer Federation of America suggests. Single women, including those who are divorced or widowed, reportedly are earning less and setting aside little to no money for emergencies.

Tough times all over, yet women enter this troubling financial cycle already behind the guys. Over a quarter of all U.S. households are headed by a woman, and those families earn and save less than all other households. In addition, single women have a median net worth that is about a third of the $93,000 national average.

Given these added challenges, can women keep up with their bills? Maybe, but it’s their long-term health that seems to be falling by the wayside.