Senate Republicans are poised to filibuster a second major policy bill Tuesday when Democrats try to advance legislation that would require employers to justify gender pay gaps.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he’ll bring up the Paycheck Fairness Act, which the Democratic-controlled House passed in April with just a single Republican vote.
Republicans oppose the bill and say it is unnecessary and will hobble businesses as well as open them up to costly lawsuits.
In a floor speech Monday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the bill “would send a windfall to trial lawyers,” and he accused Democrats of “exploiting the cause of pay fairness.”
Like most other legislation, the measure cannot advance to the floor unless at least 10 Republicans vote for it, which is unlikely. Republicans last month wielded their first filibuster, blocking a bill to create a bipartisan commission that would be tasked with examining the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
There are likely more GOP filibusters on the June calendar.
Schumer announced last month that lawmakers during the June work period would also consider an election and voting overhaul bill that the GOP unanimously opposes. Schumer said he may also bring up a bill bolstering LGBTQ rights as well as a gun control measure.
Republicans are unlikely to back either of those measures.
The Senate is evenly split, but Democrats control the majority thanks to the tiebreaking power of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The question at the outset of this work period is how Democrats will use their razor-thin majority,” McConnell said Monday. “Unfortunately, the Democratic leader already signaled his answer a week ago by laying out a June agenda that is transparently designed to fail.”
The Paycheck Fairness Act would require businesses to justify pay differences between men and women who are performing the same job, among other provisions in the legislation. It would make it far easier to sue employers over pay gaps by placing the burden on businesses to explain wage differences.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, dared the GOP in a floor speech Monday to vote against the measure.
Schumer said women earn only 82 cents for every dollar men earn. The figure is disputed by those who say other factors aside from gender influence the pay gap. But it’s one that has helped keep the legislation a top priority for Democrats.
Schumer argued the measure is not legislative overreach and will not affect private sector businesses.
“It merely makes it easier for women to overcome pay discrimination,” Schumer said. “Will our Republican colleagues step up to the plate and join us tomorrow to advance this commonsense legislation?”
