Kerry: Republican Filibuster Stifles Equal Pay Debate

Statement

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today released a statement after S. 3220, the Paycheck Fairness Act, was defeated by a Republican filibuster by a vote of 52 to 47, failing to meet 60 votes necessary to advance the measure.

"Here we are in 2012 where Massachusetts' women still earn just 81 cents for every dollar a man makes, and there aren't even 60 votes in the United States Senate to debate equal pay legislation to try and fix the problem? As a father to two daughters who have been in the workforce for years, I know we can do better than this," said Sen. Kerry. "This is a bedrock economic issue. It's not only a fairness issue or a question of discrimination. This pay gap haunts women their whole lives and hurts their retirement security and their ability to be providers despite doing the same job as men. It's just beyond me that we can't even find the votes to have a debate on this legislation."

Women in Massachusetts earn 81 cents for every dollar paid to men.

Source