WaPo: Senate Republicans Block Pay Disparity Measure

Need another reason to vote Dem this fall?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042301553.html?hpid=moreheadlines

"Senate Republicans yesterday blocked legislation to make it easier for women and others alleging discrimination to sue their employers over unequal pay, blasting the measure as an attempt by Democrats to score political points before the fall presidential campaign.

The vote was delayed until 6 p.m. so the Democratic presidential contenders could make it back after a day of campaigning in Indiana. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) gave showcase speeches on the Senate floor.

Other Democrats spent much of the day hammering Republicans for opposing the measure, which aims to reverse a Supreme Court ruling from last May. "Politically, it's the dumbest thing they could ever do," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Women "are a majority of the vote," he said. "Issues like this will matter in this election."

snip

The (5-4 Supreme Ct. Ledbetter case) ruling stunned civil rights advocates, who said federal courts in nine of the nation's 12 circuits had for decades judged that the 180-day statute of limitations began running afresh with each discriminatory paycheck. Their congressional supporters quickly drafted legislation to set that standard into law. Under the bill, the 180-day clock would start ticking when a discriminatory decision is adopted, when a person becomes subject to that decision or when a person is affected by that decision, including with each new paycheck."