The Paycheck Fairness Act failed to pass in the U.S. Senate today, as Senate Republicans unanimously voted against the measure.
The bill, pushed by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), is supposed to expand on the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
The legislation aims to “hold companies responsible for pay gaps, allow more time for women to sue for pay disparity, stop companies from retaliating against employees and offer training to women on how to negotiate a fair salary.”
The Obama campaign immediately criticized Republicans in the Senate who opposed the measure today and attacked Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for not taking a stand on the legislation.
Proponents of the bill often cite 2008 data from the U.S. Census Bureau that indicates women make 77 cents for every dollar a man brings home. President Barack Obama said the bill was the best way to ensure all that women would no longer make hundreds of thousands of dollars less throughout their lifetime than a man dong the same line of work.
However, Republicans have criticized the Fairness Act as a burden to business and called it a ploy to appeal to women voters during an election year.
“Let me be clear, pay discrimination based on gender is unacceptable,” Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said Tuesday, before the vote, according to The Hill. “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.”
