Democrats on Monday blasted Republicans not only for escalating a so-called “war on women” but for thwarting efforts to help middle-class families.
The Democratic-led Senate is set to take a crucial test vote Tuesday on the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that seeks to ensure equal pay for men and women performing the same work. The bill is expected to fail. But that isn’t keeping Democrats from squeezing some political advantage out of it.
Recommended Stories
In calls to reporters and floor speeches Monday, including a cameo appearance by President Obama on one conference call, Democrats said Republican opposition to the pay-equity legislation not only underscored GOP disdain for women but would ultimately undermine female-headed families across the county.
“Everybody suffers” if the fill is defeated, Obama said, noting that women who make just 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man doing the same job are often their family’s sole breadwinner.
“So at a time when we’re in a make-or-break moment for the middle class,” Obama said, “Congress has to step up and do its job.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., echoed the same theme on the Senate floor Monday afternoon. Reid blamed Republicans for blocking several bills intended to benefit lower- and middle-income earners, including a tax increase on millionaires and some small businesses that could have help keep interest rates on student loans low and pay for other programs.
Anticipating that Democrats would not get the 60 votes they need to advance the Paycheck Fairness Bill Tuesday, Reid laid the blame for the bill’s expected failure on Republicans.
“They don’t want women to make the same amount of money so they are filibustering this,” Reid declared.
The legislation puts Republicans in a difficult position politically because most in the party oppose such restrictions on employers, as do business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
But with the women’s vote critical in the fall elections, Republicans have to temper their opposition to the measure. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., avoided speaking against the legislation Monday and instead focused his floor speech on the need for Democrats to negotiate a way to keep student-loan interest rates low.
“Their silence on this issue has been deafening,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said of Republicans.
While Democrats insist that Republican opposition to the Paycheck Fairness Act is evidence that the party isn’t supportive of women or working families, Republicans say they oppose the measure because it would require the federal government to collect data on what employers pay their workers and would require employers to justify any differences in what they pay men and women.
Republicans said the legislation also could encourage pay discrimination lawsuits against employers, including small businesses.
Bill Hughes, a lobbyist for retailer association, said pay equity is already addressed under existing law, including the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act.
The latest Democratic proposal, Hughes said, “will increase government interference, expose honest businesses to frivolous lawsuits, and ultimately suppress job creation.”
