It was May 2012, and we heard rumblings about a Senate vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill long-sponsored by my boss, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), that would end pay secrecy, strengthen workers' ability to challenge discrimination, and bring equal pay law into line with other civil rights laws. As the lead sponsor in the House of Representatives, the congresswoman immediately mobilized her staff and advocates to ensure that we did all we could to highlight the importance of the legislation, secure the strongest Senate support possible, and—assuming it would not pass in the current political climate—protect the integrity of the legislation for future Congresses and eventual passage. That is where I came in.