Equal pay for equal work
Yep,sounds like a no-brainer, yet there are some who still oppose this legislation. Fortunately for those who worked passionately to elect Congressman Massa, he was not one of them. From the Buffalo News:
“Today we face a transformational moment,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., chief sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act. “With a new Congress, a new administration, we have a chance to finally provide equal pay for equal work and make opportunity real for millions of American women.”
The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes that have enabled employers to evade the 1963 law requiring equal pay for equal work. The vote was 256-163.
[snip]
Western New York’s three Democratic House members — Rep. Brian Higgins of Buffalo, Louise M. Slaughter of Fairport and Eric Massa of Corning — voted for both bills. Rep. Chris Lee, R-Clarence, voted against both.
The Republican opponents of the two measures argued that they would foster lawsuits against businesses and mainly benefit trial lawyers.
(That last line is soooo Kuhl, happily removed from Congress, his legacy may live on in the person of Chris Lee.)
Massa’s comment on the bill (from a press release, via the Albany Project):
“I am proud to be a part of these historic votes that seek to end discrimination against women in the workplace and promote fair wages. The New Direction Congress is working to bring down the barriers of discrimination and these two bills are a significant contribution,” stated Congressman Massa. “I hope the Senate passes these bills swiftly so that President-Elect Obama can sign them into law on day one.”
How does one vote against this? Maybe the same way one voted against a woman’s right to vote back in the day. Always the second class citizen, does anyone else believe the term, “Republican woman”, to be an oxymoron?
By the way, thank you to all our local Democratic Congress Critters who support this legislation.
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