From U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski:
MIKULSKI VOWS TO CONTINUE FIGHT FOR EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK AFTER REPUBLICAN FILIBUSTER OF PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT
Senator introduced pay equity legislation to close wage gap costing women $434,000 over their careers
“A special message to the women: Let’s suit up. Let’s square our shoulders. Let’s put our lipstick on and fight for equal pay that won’t be stopped,” Senator says
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Dean of the Senate women, vowed to continue to fight for equal pay for equal work after Senate Republicans filibustered the Paycheck Fairness Act. The legislation failed to overcome a procedural hurdle on Monday by a vote of 52 to 40. Senator Mikulski introduced the legislation to help close the wage gap between women and men working equivalent jobs, costing women and their families $434,000 over their careers.
“There they go again. Whenever we women fight for fair pay, we are either sidelined, redlined, or pushed aside,” Senator Mikulski said. “Once again, as I have said before, when we have had a setback, we are going to fight. We are going to fight on the Senate floor, we are going to take this to the people in the country, we are going to fight it through the elections and we are going to fight it through the community. I am going to say to every single person in the United States of America: Be part of this movement.”
While women still make on average 77 cents to every dollar made by a male, the Paycheck Fairness Act would build on the promise of the Equal Pay Act, passed more than 50 years ago on June 10, 1963. It would help close the pay gap by empowering women to negotiate for equal pay, closing loopholes courts have created in the law, creating strong incentives for employers to obey the laws and strengthening federal outreach and enforcement efforts.
State-by-state data on the wage gap is available here.
In January, President Obama renewed his call for Congress to pass the legislation in his State of the Union Address. The legislation would require employers to demonstrate that wage gaps between men and women doing the same work have a business justification and are truly a result of factors other than gender. The bill would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers.
The Paycheck Fairness Act also would strengthen the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ability to help women achieve pay equity by requiring DOL to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities and to continue to collect and disseminate wage information based on gender. The bill would also create a competitive grant program to provide negotiation skills training programs for girls and women.
Senator Mikulski’s full remarks on the Senate floor, as delivered, follow:
“Well, there is the Senate. There they go again. Whenever we women fight for fair pay, we are either sidelined, redlined, or pushed aside.
“We, moving for paycheck fairness, feel the way women feel every single day in the workplace. When they are trying to get equal pay for equal work, they are either not listened to or there is some kind of reason to make sure the discussion never comes up. Once again, because of eight votes separating, we could not debate paycheck fairness.
“The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bill that would finish the job we started with Lilly Ledbetter.
“This is not right. When women are out there trying to earn equal pay for equal work, they should have the opportunity to do so. Now they feel stymied. In Lilly Ledbetter, we took the first step to right this wrong, but it was not the only step.
“The Paycheck Fairness Act closes the innumerable loopholes that prevent women from being able to get equal pay for equal work. All we wanted to do was bring up the bill to debate it, to amend it, and then vote on final passage. We could not get cloture on the filibuster. Those are wonky parliamentary words that said we could have unlimited debate.
“If we had gotten cloture under our rules there would have been 30 hours of debate. I think that is enough time. There could have been amendments but, guess what, they had to be germane; that is, pertinent to the bill, or they had to be relevant or pertinent to the bill. What is wrong with that? That is not a gag rule. That is not muzzling anybody.
“No, no, it wasn’t good enough. Do you know why we didn’t get cloture? They didn’t want to bring up this bill for a final vote or amendments. They are hiding behind parliamentary procedure.
“Do you know what? Our paycheck fairness bill was so simple and stayed straightforward. Do you know what it would have done? It would have prevented retaliation against workers for sharing information about their wages. Right now, the most secret thing in our country is not only our national security, but what you make. You can’t discuss your wages with the person next to you. So if a woman was trying to figure out what the guy next to her was making, and he wanted to tell her, both could have been fired. Her for asking and him for telling. We wanted to close that loophole.
“The other thing the bill would do is prevent employers from being able to use almost any reason to justify paying a woman less. For years, employers have exploited loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, inventing any number of reasons why a woman should be paid less. It would also prevent women from being limited to just back pay when they are discriminated against. Those are the three major issues.
“In the United States of America, when we said all men and women were created equal, we have to be able to be equal. And one of the most important places you are equal is in the workplace. So if women are doing the same job, we ought to get the same pay. That is the American way.
“But once again we were stymied. Once again they tried to push us back.
“I am going to say this today on behalf of myself, the majority of the women in the Senate, and many of the great guys in the Senate: They want to make sure that today’s vote doesn’t say we are stopping this fight. Once again, we are going to reach out to the grassroots, particularly to the women of America, to join in the fight to change the Federal law books so women can get change in the family checkbooks. They can try to stop us on the floor, but they cannot stop our movement.
“Once again, as I have said before, when we have had a setback, we are going to fight. We are going to fight on the Senate floor, we are going to take this to the people in the country, we are going to fight it through the elections and we are going to fight it through the community. I am going to say to every single person in the United States of America: Be part of this movement.
“A special message to the women: Let’s suit up. Let’s square our shoulders. Let’s put our lipstick on and fight for equal pay that won’t be stopped. We are going to do it. We are going to fight today. We are going to fight tomorrow. And I am combat ready.”
I agree. We definitely need more women in the mines and on oil rigs, especially if they contract to not have kids or take maternity leave. Get crackin’ ladies!
Every election cycle, the democrats use the same lines:
1. Republicans are trying to keep you from voting
2. Republicans are against women
3 Republicans are depressing women’s wages
4. Republicans will cut your welfare checks
Crawl back under your rock Babs, you’re up up for reelection yet
Well, Republicans are trying to keep minorities from voting in many states, but not here in Maryland. Republicans are against women’s rights, especially those involving health care and reproductive control. Republicans have been depressing women’s wages since women have been able to work. Republicans would cut your welfare checks and if they could, they would get rid of welfare all together. This is not my opinion. This is fact. You can live in your world of denial but the statistics are the truth. Vote Democrat and nothing will change. Democrat’s wish to continue to use these truths as political motivation for as long as Republicans keep up their illegal and unconstitutional actions. The truth is the Republican party needs to change its outlook and become what they once stood for. Instead, they are becoming more and more distant from the views and opinions of their constituents. There are many more poor people than rich people and the middle class is a “joke”. Republicans want everyone with a job to think they are middle class. This is nothing more than a lie. Look at how following that lie destroyed the Romney campaign.
SoulCrusher,, (aka Harry Reed)… Nice Try…of course you’re entitled to your “own facts”
Snuff said
Yeah, you’re entitled to your opinion also. Guess its better to be pissed off than pissed on……..
WoW,,, You should work for MSNBC…..You just quoted “Al Sharpless”, “Rachael Maddog”,, and lets not forget,,,”Ed the “head”… very Amusing… Keep up the “Kool Aid” drinking..
Really, you should work for the Harford County State’s Attorney Office. You seem to be a qualified liar, just like them. On another note, did you see Cassilly’s campaign website. His entire statement on his Home page is a complete and utter lie. He’s gonna hold a “pig” roast on the 20th for all you supporters of his Nazi regime. I heard he’s serving filet of “Chris Behles”, the most recent “pig” he roasted……..
Good News SoulCrusher,,,,, You can now “legally” Use your EBT card to by “grass”.Hay,,if your not going to work for a living,,,,Hell ,,you might as well get high while standing in line at the unemployment agency… Oh wait,,,, you dont even have to do that,,,,, “Smoke’m if yeh Gottem”
Typical Republican rhetoric. Please, suck a fart out straight out of my a$$hole you phuked up piece of inbred white trash.
Wow ,,,, What a quite the master of language , you are,,, shows your education level is right up there with the illiterate…. impressive.. you probably kiss your mother with that mouth…… Typical “Dumbacrat”cant come up with real truths,,, Like Nobama,,,, “eh ,,,tell them anything ,,,they will believe it” HAHA OH,,,,and DO enjoy your blunts and joints
Seriously, you got that confused with what Republicans do, but go on with urself. You really are making urself look like an idiot quoting lies that even far rightwing boneheads know are just completely false. Just for the record, I’m not Republican or Democrat. It is my opinion if you have anything to do with current politics, you should probably be imprisoned. I’m a “fukallofyouacrat”. I believe in honesty and integrity, unlike anybody in politics right now, or anybody involved in the Harford County Criminal Justice System…..
Soulcrusher complains of voter suppression, then supports murdering millions of black babies.
Oh O.K., I gotta hear this one. Whats the punch line? Where did you get this idea from?
Since you won’t respond, I’ll talk for you. I haven’t complained about voter suppression. I just stated the facts. I do support abortion up to the end of the first trimester. I do believe that a woman has the right to do what she wants with her body. It is hers after all. That is the SoulCrusher’s take on whatever jibberish you were wallowing about. I also know for a fact, that Harford County’s Courts, State’s Attorney Office and the Sheriff’s Department are corrupt. Hell, Harford County isn’t the only county with corruption as I have seen it for myself in 5 counties on the Western Shore of Maryland and 2 on the Eastern Shore. The corruption I have witnessed involves Judges, Cops, State’s Attorneys, Prison Guards, Prisoner Transport Officers, Lawyers and Court Commissioners. But, Harford County is the Jurisdiction that made me lose it all, over an illegal and unconstitutional conviction. So, in essence, your Judges, Cops, and State’s Attorneys created me. Just remember, beware the sting of the scorpion’s tail…….
Republicans are not cutting my welfare check.. I work for a living and don’t get one.
better yet babs go back to pg county with the illegals whom you favor more than citizens you gas bag
Republicans are not against women’s rights. The Republicans oppose the requirements outlined in the Paycheck Fairness Act because the legislation would outlaw the consideration of many legitimate pay factors such as an employee’s level of education and training, professional experience and salary history. Dems policies only decrease initiative for employees to gain more education, training, and experience.
Well here we go again. Please tell me that you are not aware that Republicans have consistently voted to interfere with Women’s choices involving birth control and health care. Please tell me you are not aware that Republicans have interfered with equal pay for women on many occasions. Please show me a Republican in office that supports welfare and class reform. Please tell me that you are unaware of Republicans in southern states coming up with election laws that interfere with minority voters. Please tell me you are unaware that Republicans all over the country are pushing and PASSING laws that purposely interfere with voting of traditionally Democratic voters. If you can say honestly that you were unaware of these facts, then I apologize. But, you are not a Republican if you can honestly answer that you didn’t know. You are just clueless…….
Why do democrats think minorities are so stupid, that they can’t get an ID card?
You need an ID card to sign up for your welfare checks, to use a bank ,and have you been to a doctor or hospital lately? They ask for photo ID. The don’t have an ID card, is just a democratic scam.
Photo ID, proof of residency and other forms of barriers have been used to keep people from voting. Free ID for everyone would be a way to allow everyone to comply with the law. Voting Absentee or by mail doesn’t require that you need to show ID. Soldiers vote overseas without a valid ID as well or Americans living abroad–all the need is to be registered in the corresponding Embassy or Consulate. Interestingly, you don’t need ID to register to vote-only show up at MVA and bring proof of live person (you are already there) such as medical card or alternate ID. There are more ways to determine identity other than an ID, but those interested in keeping people from voting can make that argument due to the high number of fraudulent voters in Maryland? (not really, just sarcasm on my part) As if the Republican’ts would ever will a statewide office again after the last Rhino became governator.
How come you didn’t use this name?
Mostly blah should be your name…
I hate to let facts get in the way of your version of truth, but here is some food for thought:
In 59 voting districts in the Philadelphia region, Obama received 100% of the votes with not even a single vote recorded for Romney. (A mathematical and statistical impossibility).
In 21 districts in Wood County Ohio, Obama received 100% of the votes where GOP inspectors were illegally removed from their polling locations – and not one single vote was recorded for Romney. (Another statistical impossibility).
In Wood County Ohio, 106,258 voted in a county with only 98,213 eligible voters.
In St. Lucie County, FL, there were 175,574 registered eligible voters but 247,713 votes were cast.
The National SEAL Museum , a polling location in St. Lucie County, FL had a 158%voter turnout.
Palm Beach County, FL had a 141% voter turnout.
In one Ohio County , Obama won by 108% of the total number of eligible voters.
NOTE: Obama won in every state that did not require a Photo ID and lost in every state that did require a Photo ID in order to vote. Imagine that!
What was the outcome of the criminal investigations into these irregularities?
The outcome was Obama was reelected.
Dad-
you do realize every one of those false claims has been addressed don’t you? You need to get off of rush dimbulbs email list it’s making you look dumb.
I was trying to behave today also, but your idiocy is just to much for me….http://www.factcheck.org/2013/01/voting-conspiracies/. A viral email that makes those claims is bogus. It fabricates Ohio and Florida results. Also, Obama won four of the 11 states with photo ID laws. Daddy Rabbit, you are an idiot………
there could be a number or reasons for those numbers with one of them being fraud too. People sometimes don’t vote in the district assigned, possibly? Duplication of same name on two different districts, possibly? Election board error? Were the votes counted anyway or discounted before the final tally? Interestingly, the nexus of the thread is voter fraud and laws in MARYLAND!!! Maybe Ohio needs to improve their data management and keep their lists clean of duplicate names and/or only count votes that aren’t questionable. It is not statistically impossible to not receive any votes in a particular district either. You need to come up with better arguments since I would bet in those districts in question, the reality Rommey would not have won the district anyway by a long shot. The Idea to add additional barriers to voting rights is nothing new so you can go ahead and mask it as protecting the integrity of the voting system and preventing fraud but the real fact is that the Republican’t party doesn’t appeal to new immigrants, women, gays and lesbians, socially conscious, environmentalists, pro-choice, disabled, elderly to mention a few. You have military, veterans, Evangelists, abolitionists, just say no crowd, pro-life, ultra-right Waco and a bunch of old white guys. KKK and other fringe groups even out of your group leaning will vote with you but for the most past much less than 30% of the general national voting block. Sure, you can carry the south and some other states here and there but your days are over as far as being part of a GOP that appealed to the mainstream that actually brought and created Reagan Democrats or could easily sway the middle of the road American which you trash everyday by supporting big business and promote inequality and push for elimination of programs to help the working poor. You suck and you know it so putting up barriers to keep people from voting is the only way to hold on to your political influence.
Proffy? Are you me?
My 2 independent cents! You rail against the current system but the previous “hanging chad” in Florida won you an election with Bush! Irregularities in voting is nothing new and there have been plenty of investigations to determine widespread voting fraud, the results haven’t really led to major convictions expect for the fellow that led the robo call campaign during the Erhlich governorship campaign telling voters to stay home in Baltimore City about 6 or 8 years ago but since that was a Republican and robo-calls in his favor, you can conveniently forget about it. Voter fraud tends to happen in far smaller numbers and I don’t know of any facts that showed a candidate losing an election because of it.
The votes in Florida have actually been recounted by universities as well as news organizations. Guess what… Gore lost. There were also thousands of military votes that a judge ruled should have been counted. Guess what…. Gore lost. The voting was stopped by the Supreme Court because if they were going to recount some votes under different rules… they needed to recount them all.
The media big lie always gets repeated as truth.
Proffy,
You are a filthy, ignorant, biased slut.
Any comments on the Robo–Call fiasco??
C’mon you big sack of vermin and pus. Your filthy in-bred, tooth decaying, tobacco chewing, road-kill chopper, cousin kissing baptized in dirty mud and living the privileged life in your double wide with 4 cars with not tires in your front lawn an da transmission to boot in your bathtub– please tell me WHAT ABOUT THE ROBO-CALL CONVICTION OF YOUR REPUBLICAN’T WORKING FOR BOB F***ING EHRLICK???? SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH…
You go girl!!!!!! You got my vote!!!!!!! ?
http://freebeacon.com/politics/senate-dems-remain-on-front-lines-in-war-on-women/
First clean up your own House (and Senate) then come tell the rest of us how to do it. If you can’t make this happen in Democratic Senate offices why do you think you can force it on the rest of the world. Just maybe there is a reason, like taking time off from the work force. Maybe women are more stable emotional and don’t seek their identity from work, which decreases productivity. Maybe it is not evil….
Equal work for equal pay has been Federal law since 68. Congress always exempts itself.
Blueballsie,
Robo calls? Is the best you got… robo calls? Hey! How about we play nine ball on that broad ‘tarded forehead of yours while we auction off your mood swings.
Robo-creep,
Yeah, since robo call was actually prosecuted and convicted vs. the Republican campaign for governor!!!. For all the talking about fraud caused by dems, it is the repubs that have criminal conviction egg in their face. Bunch of hypocrites is what you repubs are for the most part. Your party as a long history of preventing minorities from voting and your party isn’t a party of inclusion but exclusion. You reek of dishonesty, discrimination against all kinds of groups of people and the latest happen to be immigrants (your distinction between legal and illegal is just a diversion) just the same as the speak English only crowd as if our Constitution designated English as the only language to be written and spoken in the land of the free. You are worse than the worst this country ever had because you can hide your discriminatory ideals under other pretenses such as national security, sovereignty, national deficit ( as if welfare and social services) even make a dent on the money spent on corporate welfare, maintaining the military industrial complex, and tax breaks for the wealthy and rich. Your lack moral aptitude and all for me values do not represent the welcoming beacon of the best nation of the world but just a shadow of what it was once. There is no greater dishonor than leaving Americans behind and your party even had a problem with that when Obama recovered a soldier left behind. You scream about Bengazy and make a mockery of the middle class and poor insinuating communism and socialism about the health care act that followed the republican ideal that the insurance be provided by the market. Single payee system was rejected by your party and now you rail about it. All your party does is pass bills to abolish it and hasn’t worked for the American public. Your suck!
Easy problem for the demos to fix. Just like obamadosen’t care where they ruin the best medical care system in the world by bringing everyone’s care down to a lower more expensive standard, or how they dumb down education and lower standards so the class must study and move forward as the slowest students in the room as not to hurt their feelings or make them look bad. There needs to be a man income tax, that’s right those mean old higher paid men need to have their incomes taxed and then redistributed (sound familiar) to those poor innocent female workers who cannot fend for their selves. Don’t know what’s taking the demos so long to correct this injustice, must be part of their war on women.
You guys are truly miseducated on statistics, right up to Sen. Mikulski herself. The bottom line: the 23-cent gender pay gap is SIMPLY THE DIFFERENCE between the average earnings of all men and women working full-time.
It does not account for differences in occupations, positions, education, job tenure or hours worked per week. When such relevant factors are considered, the wage gap narrows to the point of vanishing.
So lets bury this once and for all…
Hey soul crusher, ur my kind of people. As for this thing they call senator? …having mikulski speaking for women is like having me speak for our legal gang with guns, you know our pervayers of myham, our happy tazzers who kill innocent citizens for their own good, pig good that is. Our injustice system is a joke. I laugh at you who still have faith in this pc.of shit we call justice and government. We all know this is a government for the perverted rich, by the perverted rich and of perverted shit. You fools who still believe in american justice are next?
Once again I’m glad I’m your kind of people. Your right, our current Justice System is a joke! I’m living proof of it. And yes, our government has become corrupted by the rich and greedy. Honestly, how much money can people really use in their lifetime? Whats it all for in the end, because it will not matter, we are all but shadows and dust. Shadows and dust……..