President Obama used the pending Paycheck Fairness Act legislation in the Senate as part of his ongoing war on Congress today, even at risk of weakening one of his favorite campaign talking points about his first-term achievements.
“Women still earn just 77 cents for ever dollar a man earns,” Obama said, even though he also cited The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 to demonstrate his credentials as a champion of women.
Obama implicitly argued for the inefficacy of the Ledbetter legislation, but he was far more upbeat about the bill on the campaign trail earlier this cycle. “Change is the first bill I signed into law — a law that says you get an equal day’s work — somebody who puts in an equal day’s work should get equal day’s pay” the president told supporters in December.
A persistent pay-gap problem, though, allows Obama to attack Congress today. “We’re going to call on Congress to do the right thing, but, let’s face it: Congress is not going to act because I said it’s important; they’re going to act because you guys make your voices heard,” he said, referring to his plan to issue a statement in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act pending in the Senate. “Senators have to know you’re holding them accountable.”
He said that “if Congress doesn’t act, then women are still going to have difficulty enforcing and pressing for this basic principle.”
