that was the case with lily ledbetter. she didn't know the man standing next to her doing the same job was being paid more. she didn't discover that until many years later so the supreme court said, mrs. ledbetter, unfortunately, you didn't file your case in time. we're throwing it out of court and they did. strict constructionists conservatives that they were departed from the previous court's decisions which had given her and people like her the right to recover and limited the right to recover. well, in the name of lily ledbetter we shaped the law to make it abundantly clear so neither this supreme court nor any supreme court in the future will have any doubt that it's six months after the discovery of the discrimination. not after the first act of discrimination. it was one of the first bills if not the first bill that president barack obama signed. i happened to be there at the signing ceremony and standing next to him receiving the pen for that signature was lily ledbetter. she may not have won in the supreme court. s

this one lady, lily ledbetter, took her case all the way to the supreme court. they heard it and they concluded that she had -- was aware of the unfair wage practices that she alleged long before the statute of limitations -- long before and that by the time she filed her complaint, it was way too late. and, in fact, one of the key witnesses had already died. so it was years after. and so they concluded that, okay? the congress fulfilling its proper role was unhappy about it. and has passed a law that i think unwisely muddles the statute of limitations on these kinds of cases dramatically but it would give her a chance to be successful or another person in their circumstance to be successful. so the supreme court -- this wasn't a conservative activist decision. it was a fact-based analysis by the supreme court by which they concluded that she waited too long to bring the lawsuit and it was barred. and congress thinking that was not good, passed a law that changed the statute of limitations so more people would be able to prevail. it's not wrong for the court to

let me tell you about one case the lily ledbetter cases used to study this. five justices struck a severe blow to the rights of working families across the country. 40 years ago congress put in place a lot to outlaw discrimination in the workplace so that men and women will receive equal pay for equal work. now, what they did the supreme court did in, and active as scourge, the court native people talking about judicial modesty and judicial restraint during their confirmation hearing and say the accord that basically struck down equal pay for women and i was very proud to be standing with lilly ledbetter, standing right behind the president's obama and that you were there when you sign the lily ledbetter long as his first act and that is going to change us. you know, those who care about the constitution, we should ask judge sotomayor after those conservative activists on the court now who have good legislation designed to protect americans from their jobs and voting, was meant to guarantee the access of americans to health care and education, was meant to pr

and lily ledbetter said that is expeact what i did when i learned i was discriminated against i filed. but the supreme court across the street reach add different conclusion. their conclusion was that the law didn't mean that. the law meant that she had to file the law within six months after the first act of discrimination. in other words, the first time she was paid less than the man working next to her she had a clock starting to run. she had six months to file the lawsuit. well, those of us who have worked outside of government and even those working in government, for that matter, to some extent, but those working in the private sector know that it's a rare company that publishes the paychecks of every employee. so you may be working next to someone for years and never know exactly what they're being paid. that was the case with lilly ledbetter. she didn't know the man standing next to her down the same job was being paid more. she didn't discover it until several years later. the supreme court said, unfortunately, you distant file your case in tie, we're throwing it out of court

from the signing of the lily ledbetter act or schip to tobacco regulation, this is what it means. standing there with the president when he assigning these, yesterday with him signing the memorandum on extending benefits in same-sex couples. people are in tears. people are impacted by this. this change is not abstract, it is real. the problems in national security are very difficult and people are working on them. some of this -- helpless and give us your ideas and stay with us as we work through them. >> i appreciate noel's candor although i am not so sure about the elected thing eight years ago. [applause] [laughter] >> i was trying not to use that word knowing the crowd i was in. >> not over it yet. look, i do think that it is hard to add to what was said about what president obama's presidency means. i will say that to see -- what this presidency means is change but change at a time when the nation so desperately needs to change. it is the combination of the man, the agenda, and the moment that are so powerful for me and so moving for me. why i am willing to get up early in th