Issue Position: Women

Issue Position

As a father, I want my daughter to have the same rights and opportunities as every other American. I want her to be able to achieve her dreams and never be stopped from doing so because of her gender.

This country was founded on equality, but the promise of equality remains unfulfilled for too many American women.

In Congress, I helped pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, ensuring women get equal pay for equal work and making sure the statues of limitations were expanded giving women more time to challenge discrimination in the workplace. I also voted for several initiatives that allow victims of wage discrimination to sue for punitive damages and require employers to prove any disparities in pay between men and women were job related.

As Governor, I will not tolerate gender discrimination in the workplace anywhere in Arkansas.

I have also always supported legislation that promotes women's health, and voted numerous times to protect nutritional programs that have helped so many women, such as the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.

I worked hard in Congress to draw national attention to breast cancer, including helping to pass the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2007, now law, which creates grants to conduct research on environmental factors related to the causes of breast cancer. I am also proud to have helped introduce the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009 (the EARLY Act), which would require a national evidence-based education campaign to increase breast cancer awareness.

Finally, I proudly voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and fought off attempts to weaken the law. Domestic violence is a major problem facing our state. In the last decade alone, Arkansas has frequently been ranked as one of the 10 worst states in the nation when it comes to men killing women, a typical indicator of domestic homicide.

As governor, I will send a strong, clear message that domestic violence will not be tolerated in this state and that we will do everything we can to protect and empower survivors of domestic violence. That's why tackling domestic violence is at the cornerstone of my crime reduction plan.

My "Tougher, Smarter Crime Reduction Plan for Arkansas" is a comprehensive plan to reduce crime, ease prison overcrowding, and address domestic violence and child abuse in Arkansas, through both short-term and long-term reforms.

My plan calls for historic measures to protect and empower survivors of domestic violence in Arkansas.

One of my proposals calls for the passage of the "Protecting & Empowering Survivors of Domestic Violence Act" -- a series of new measures to help survivors of domestic violence in Arkansas. I will also shore up the state's Domestic Peace Fund, which helps support domestic violence shelters in Arkansas, by requiring criminals to pay a special court fee for each conviction of certain abuse and domestic violence-related crimes. I will also authorize portions of the Fund to support projects and programs that better train law enforcement to handle domestic violence situations. Finally, my plan directs the Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence to publish a biennial report on domestic violence in Arkansas in order to raise awareness of the issue.

I will also work with the legislature to increase funding by $1.28 million for the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division (CACD), which hasn't been able to add a hotline operator or investigator since 2008 despite child abuse reports steadily rising. The CACD is responsible for receiving and investigating reports involving sexual abuse and severe physical maltreatment of children and working with law enforcement to prosecute crimes against children.

Every child deserves the opportunity to live a happy, healthy life. As governor, I will increase funding for the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division so that we can crack down on those who hurt children and put them behind bars where they belong.

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