KEITH: The bill would protect women from retaliation from their employers for trying to seek equal pay. Every time you get a paycheck and you're making less than the next person, that's a war against women. SENATOR BARBARA MIKULSKI: It's one bullet every paycheck when you're discriminated against. KEITH: And despite all the politics, the bill's author, Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski from Maryland, points out women earn just 77 cents for every dollar made by a man in the same position. And those who are actually victims of workplace discrimination are only getting lip service from Washington. Yet, here we are today voting on the same measure again and again. SENATOR DEAN HELLER: This proposal couldn't pass when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress. Nevada Senator Dean Heller was the only Republican to address the Paycheck Fairness Act on the Senate floor today. In the Senate, they keep bringing up bills related to women, bills they know Republicans don't support. The fact that he and his fellow Republicans had to once again explain their position on women's issues appears to be exactly what Democrats want. KEITH: Romney's campaign says he supports pay equity for women, but he did not take a position on the bill. REID: He should show some leadership and tell his fellow Republicans that opposing fair pay for all Americans is shameful. KEITH: Reid also took the opportunity to attack GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney on the issue. We stand for equal pay for equal work and it's time for Republicans to stop denying the reality that millions of women face every day and work with us to give women the pay equality they deserve. SENATOR HARRY REID: It's clear where Democrats stand. Here's Senate majority leader Harry Reid. You might say the Paycheck Fairness Act is a sequel. Then came the Violence Against Women Act. First, there was the issue of contraception. Democrats don't want voters, particularly coveted female voters, to forget about it. TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: By now you've heard about the Republican war on women. But as NPR's Tamara Keith reports, this is an election year when many votes are as much about getting the opposition on the record as passing legislation. Democrats knew the likely outcome before ever bringing the bill up. The defeat of the bill is not a surprise. Republicans in the Senate blocked a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act today, a bill aimed at closing pay disparities between men and women.
I'm Robert Siegel.ĪUDIE CORNISH HOST: And I'm Audie Cornish. From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
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