The House of Representatives voted to pass a bill -- the Paycheck Fairness Act -- 256-163, on Friday which proposes to close a loophole preventing women suffering pay discrimination from filing complaints.
The Party breakdown of the votes in favor of ending the pay imbalance were 246 Democrats and 10 Republicans.
Voting against equal pay for equal work was 3 Democrats and 160 Republicans.
Within my lifetime, the ideal of ‘equal pay for equal work’ was a radical one. In the lifetime of many of those in this chamber, there was a time when it was perfectly acceptable to pay a woman less, simply because she was a woman. In 1963, when the landmark Equal Pay Act was passed, women made barely 60 cents for every dollar earned by men.Today, we have closed that gap, thanks not only to generations of women’s advocates, but to millions of women who went to work every day and did their jobs as well as any man. At the same time, any gender gap in wages is a gap too large—and when women still make 77 cents on the male dollar, it is clear that we still have work to do. That wage gap is not simply a symbol of equality imperfectly achieved: It is the cause of serious economic damage for working families. The wage gap costs them a total of $200 billion every year, according to the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation. That’s $4,000 per family, each year.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
The Democrats who opposed the bill -- all freshmen members, and hopefully one-termers -- are Bobby Bright and Parker Griffith of Alabama, and Walt Minnick of Idaho.
The 10 Republicans who supported H.R. 12 are Representatives Cao, Castle, Dent, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, Gerlach, Johnson, Reichert, Ros-Lehtinen, and Smith.
Further proof that the Republican party is devoid of ideas, and instead look for ways to discriminate against those not born white and male. Okay, you're opposed to gay marriage. You've made your position clear. Even the gay Republicans oppose gays. I guess since everyone else hates you, you're starting to hate yourselves.
I'm really having a difficult time with this decision, though. If your wife or mother performs the same work, and performs it just as well as a man she should make less money?
Incredible!
I'm guessing Chris Hollen at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee toasted this vote with champagne. You idiots just gave him the first issue of the 2010 congressional races. I hope he hits you about the head with it.
