[Vision2020] Senate Republicans Again Block Pay Equity Bill

[Art Deco]

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June 5, 2012
Senate Republicans Again Block Pay Equity Bill By JENNIFER
STEINHAUER<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/jennifer_steinhauer/index.html>

WASHINGTON — A bill that would pave the way for women to more easily
litigate their way to pay equality failed to clear a procedural hurdle in
the Senate on Tuesday as Republicans united against the measure for the
second time in two years.

As Lilly M. Ledbetter<http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/l/lilly_m_ledbetter/index.html>,
the woman whose name was attached to a 2009 law that ensured equal pay for
women, watched from the gallery, the Senate voted, 52 to 47, to open debate
on the legislation, 8 votes short of the 60 required.

“It’s a very sad day here in the United States Senate,” Senator Barbara
Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland, said after the vote.

The bill would have built on the 2009 Ledbetter legislation, which adjusted
the statute of limitations on equal pay lawsuits. Tuesday’s bill sought to
bar companies from retaliating against workers who inquire about pay
disparities and open pathways for female employees to sue for punitive
damages in cases of paycheck discrimination. In 2010, the same bill failed
a procedural vote in the Senate when no Republican supported it.

The measure was part of Senate Democrats’ continuing effort to highlight
divisions with Republicans over women’s issues and to force Republicans to
take difficult votes on bills focused on domestic violence, wage
discrimination and other matters.

The only Republican to take to the floor to denounce the measure was
Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, who has authored his own legislation that is
less sweeping.

“Let me be clear: pay discrimination based on gender is unacceptable,” Mr.
Heller said. “Despite the political rhetoric around here, everyone agrees
on this fact. The question is, will the Paycheck Fairness Act actually
address workplace inequality? And the simple answer is no.”

Democrats tried to frame the issue as a broader economic one. “Middle-class
families need the economic security,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow,
Democrat of Michigan.

Senator Mary Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, acknowledged Republicans’
central complaint — that the bill would create litigation and potentially
onerous compliance issues for small businesses. But she said: “Where are
these women supposed to go? What are they supposed to do? Have an
appointment with their congressman? Show the congressman their paycheck?”

Democrats have repeatedly pointed out that women make about 77 cents to the
male dollar, which reflects the gap between their annual earnings. Based on
median hourly pay, women make 86 percent as much as men, according to the
most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Before the vote, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader,
criticized Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee,
and his Republican colleagues for failing to take a position on the bill.

“They want to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the reality,” Mr.
Reid said. (Mr. Reid voted against the measure as a procedural trick to
enable him to call the legislation back to the floor again as Ms. Mikulski,
brandishing a red lipstick <http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/media/> as her
weapon in a post-legislative news conference, promised would happen.)

Then, Mr. Reid introduced Ms. Ledbetter, whose Southern lilt filled the
hallway off the Senate floor as she described realizing near retirement
that she made less money than men doing the same work in her company.
“Paycheck fairness is near and dear to my heart,” Ms. Ledbetter said.

During a news conference held after the vote, Senator Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky, the Republican leader, said that Republicans were justified in
voting against the legislation.

“We don’t think America suffers from a lack of litigation,” he said.

In a statement, President Obama said, “It is incredibly disappointing that
in this make-or-break moment for the middle class, Senate Republicans put
partisan politics ahead of American women and their families.”


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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