Republicans Unanimously Block Debate On Gender Pay Equity Bill

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

SAHIL KAPUR – APRIL 9, 2014, 11:37 AM EDT

Senate Republicans voted unanimously on Wednesday to block debate from beginning on Democratic-led legislation aimed at narrowing the pay gap between men and women.

The motion to proceed to the Paycheck Fairness Act received 53 votes for, and 44 against, falling short of the 60 needed to defeat a filibuster.

"This legislation would double down on job loss all while lining the pockets of trial lawyers," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). "In other words, it's just another Democratic idea that threatens to hurt the very people that it claims to help. ... We've already seen what five and a half years of Washington Democratic control has meant. More poverty and lower wages for women."

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), is backed by President Barack Obama. It would make it easier for a woman to sue an employer if she's getting paid less than a male counterpart for doing the same work. It would also prohibit employer retaliation against workers for talking about how much they earn.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/senate-cloture-vote-paycheck-fairness-act

[The Blue Flower]

1. The campaign ads pretty much write themselves

Thanks, Mitch.

[msongs]

16. yep, weak democrat majority allows repubs to control senate nt

[MindMover]

2. Paycheck fairness bill meets quick end in the Senate

Democrats' push for a bill they say would help close the gender wage gap lasted all of a day before it was shot down in the Senate.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/paycheck-fairness-bill-meets-quick-end-in-the-senate/

[ashling]

3. WOW, who saw that coming!

[onehandle]

4. The Party Of Women. nt

[hue]

5. Of course the mighty Repukes blocked it! That's all they can do!!(How can any woman vote R ??)

ooooo! I knew this was coming but it's hard to shake off the filthy disgust of them!!

[Jack Rabbit]

6. But there's no Republican war on women

John Boehner said so and the Koch brothers paid me to say that.

[freshwest]

12. LOL

[liberal N proud]

7. Still you will find women who will support the pukes

I don't get it when people vote against their own best interest.

[Tom Ripley]

10. They are collaborators

[mac56]

14. Like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders.

SMH

[liberal N proud]

15. Yeah

Like that!

[Jack Rabbit]

19. They're schlaflies

Shouldn't schlafly be a common noun, like quisling?

[ProgressiveJarhead]

8. I Don't Freaking Understand This. Military Pay Does Not Discriminate

Rethugs love the military so freaking' much, why don't they use the same standard? My LES never listed my gender. I was paid exactly the same as my fellow female officers. My wife's LES does not state her gender. It does not say Pay Grade OE-3 (Female). It fucking says OE-3. I haven't heard one pundit discuss this.

[Tom Ripley]

9. C'mon, gender gap!

[Lifelong Protester]

11. Women, please take note!

There is definitely one party that does not care about the female gender.


And don't trial lawyers need jobs, too? Wouldn't this fall under the auspices of the much touted "job-creators"? Talk about using both sides of your mouth (as opposed to no sides of your brain).

[rhett o rick]

13. Stop the bleeding. Dump the filibuster while there is still time to get legislation passed. nm

[PeteSelman]

18. Pointless without the House.

The time to kill the fillibuster was 2009 when we could have done some good.

[SpankMe]

17. Unanimously anti-woman

What really blows me out of the water is that Republicans continue to promote these severely clueless and whacked out policies - from anti-woman, to anti-Hispanic to anti-poor/middle class to anti-environment to anti-gay to ravenously pro-war - all on the opposite side of public opinion. Also, include the levels of corruption and hypocrisy we're seeing an many national Republican figures and you'd think they'd be in jeopardy of coming out worse in the house and senate.

And yet the momentum is in Republicans' favor for the upcoming mid-terms. This scares the shit out of me. Nate Silver has scenarios where Republicans could pick up something like 11 seats in the Senate in the worst case.

WTF is wrong with this country?

[blkmusclmachine]

20. GOP: "A woman's place is at home. Barefoot and pregnant. And subservient to her husband."

[Robbins]

21. Well

Dems In Maine need to run ads showing Susan Collins supporting McConnell on this.