What difficulties did congress face in passing the civil rights act

They're afraid that they lost their position.

Explanation:

The majority of  Congress had to face re-election every 2-years.

At that time, the civil rights act which intended to give more rights for racial minorities were not something that popular in United States. Especially from the southern states.

Many of the congress believe that if they act in support of this act, they will lost their supports from their base (especially if that person came from southern states) and will lost their re-election. So, it was difficult for them to pass the civil rights act.

equal pay act of 1963. the equal pay act, signed in to law by president john f. kennedy on june 10, 1963, was one of the first federal anti-discrimination laws that addressed wage differences based on gender. they felt that this would prevent employers from undercutting future wages for men.