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did anyone say narodnaya volya
#no one did except for ME#i am your local revolutionary populist enthusiast now#if anyone cares about them nearly as much as i do you are free to dm me because my brainrot is severe and i have no one to talk to#before anyone says oh vawa is that a het ship YES yes it is and it is better than most rusrev yaoi#second image isnt yaoi btw but you're free to interpret it as such but honestly there are better mikhailov yaoi ships if you want those#how does one tag this#russian history#revolutionary populism#narodnaya volya#vawa draws#narodniki-verse
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I can confirm that the songs are Nick's and not Johnny's by lyrics from Draw The Line
"You wanted me
To be something
That I could never be
I'll forget you
You fake black and blue
Just to bend the truth
Now I'm coming clean"
Nick made a post in I think 2022? (I could be wrong on the year) Using the # 3 years sober
Since Johnny outed him as a heroin addict, Nick has been clean of heroin for... 5 years??
Which proves even more the lyrics are Nick's
i don’t think you’re being fair tbh
all of johnnys solo stuff came out when he and nick weren’t taking. i very highly doubt nick wrote any lyrics because he had no reason to. nick rightfully was upset with him during that time and i highly doubt he took anything from get scared’s archives because they would probably give him backlash if found out
and johnny helped write get scared’s music so of course there’s going to be some similarities because his solo career never took off so he never did explore his identity and sound for vawa
#vawa is so fascinating to me because it should have been a lot bigger than what it was#i have a vague idea of what went wrong with johnnys solo career but i can’t exactly tell you what went wrong#like he fumbled the get scared hype so hard it’s wild#ignoring the fact i was going through a kpop phase at the time i didn’t like his vocals#also a lot of his riffs just remind me of korn and that’s okay but if i wanted to listen to korn i would just listen to korn#answered#vincent val
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Great post and illustration from @liberaljane to celebrate Pride ... Trans inclusive feminism only this #PrideMonth ❤️🌈 • • It's officially PRIDE month 🏳️🌈! Which means, it's a great time to talk TERFs - trans-exclusionary radical feminists - who are really anything but feminist! TERFs oppose the rights, equality and safety of trans people, especially trans women. ✨ • • ✨TERF ideology at its core is simple and bigoted. TERFs believe that trans women are not women, and that including (or even recognizing their existence), is a "danger to women." 🙄 • • ✨Despite claiming to be feminist and left-leaning, TERF ideology often aligns with conservatism. TERFs deliberately seek to dehumanize trans women and have worked to deny trans women the right basic healthcare (check out the scary 'religious exemption' rules!), and work to exclude trans women from anywhere that may be considered a 'woman's space.' ✨ • • ✨If you're thinking - oh, this is just a small group - that's not the case. In the United Kingdom, TERFs have effectively succeeded in re-framing the question of trans rights entirely around their own concerns about “female erasure.” ✨ • • ✨In the United States, TERFs are working with conservatives to advance an anti-trans agenda. In April 2019, a House Commitee held a hearing on the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation & gender identity as protected classes under federal civil rights law. One of the people invited to speak by Republicans was Julia Beck, from a TERF group, WoLF. At the hearing, she said "If the [Equality] act passes in its current form as HR5, then every right that women have fought for will cease to exist,”✨ • • ✨This incident in April wasn't the first time TERFs were on Capitol Hill either. In March 2019, TERFs spoke out against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), citing, "VAWA was created for women and girls. Not for those who feel like or identify as female"✨ • • ✨All of which is a long winded way of saying - TERFs DO NOT BELONG AT PRIDE 🏳️🌈 • • #feminist #feministart #art #drawing #lgbt #lgbtpride #feminism #acreativeDC #illustration #pride #queerpride #instagay #pride2019 #pridemonth #pride (at Housmans Radical Booksellers) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByNYF1RFIpo/?igshid=ieopmlglk4ts
#pridemonth#feminist#feministart#art#drawing#lgbt#lgbtpride#feminism#acreativedc#illustration#pride#queerpride#instagay#pride2019
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Here they come! Second woman #MeToos VAWA Joe
Article here. Yes, modern women can't handle physical contact with men without a written contract. Well, feminist/Democrat ones anyway. And now watch them eat their own. Lovely. Excerpt:
'A Connecticut woman says Joe Biden touched her inappropriately and rubbed noses with her during a 2009 political fundraiser in Greenwich when he was vice president, drawing further scrutiny to the Democrat and his history of unwanted contact with women as he ponders a presidential run
"It wasn't sexual, but he did grab me by the head," Amy Lappos told The Courant Monday. "He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth."
Lappos posted about the alleged incident on the Facebook page of Connecticut Women in PoliticsSunday in response to a similar account by former Nevada legislator Lucy Flores, which comes as Biden is considering a 2020 run for president. Flores accused Biden of kissing her on the back of her head in 2014, when she was a candidate for lieutenant governor.'
Like0 Dislike0 from http://news.mensactivism.org/?q=node/33058
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Specialist Growth & Advancement Articles And Also Tips For Professionals Functioning Coming From.
Christmas is a time of dispersing cheer, and also just what better way to do so compared to along with a character? Semi-proper or even appropriate diet plan (consuming veggies, whole grains, new & dry fruit products consistently, together with whatever other meals you like) actually operates better for keeping a base continually well-maintained than douching performs. 2261A of VAWA, which says that anybody which exists within the special maritime and also areal territory from the United States along with intent to daunt another person or even pester as well as throughout that action engages in conduct that triggers, attempts to trigger, or would certainly be fairly expected to induce considerable psychological hardship to that person, a prompt loved one of that person, or even a significant other or intimate companion of that person, is actually bad from stalking. Properly, times have altered and so have the quality of tvs. K. 2018 will certainly be actually a 7 personal year which will be actually a time from evaluation and also understanding, 2018 will be best for you to concentrate on your skills as well as skills in an initiative to refine all of them. I asked: so an individual must be actually keeping an eye on you?, as well as she noded, by them taking note of me, they give me their power. Amazon still has my funds - tomorrow I will certainly be actually knowning as every number on this checklist to find if anyone at the firm are going to give me any sort of form of reaction. Enriches provider photo- Participating in greener organisation strategies as well as publishing those practises may do surprises for your firm photo and also may draw in each customers and also employees. I carried out a one card reading for you and also the memory card I pulled out is actually Compensation, this might be actually a weird card to draw but I feel it is actually the right one. Our profession DSO was FIFTY days, which as compares to 45 days in the year-ago one-fourth, and 46 times final fourth. Blessed individuals give nicely to others via their initiative in their work, careers, business and their individual lives. He is going to make evident incorrectly that one more individual devoted the criminal activities and also in swap he is discharged with opportunity offered. Since our team introduced EBAs customer that are actually moved off our much older license deal to the token-based EBA have actually led to memberships nearly three opportunities higher than before. Create your lifestyle eco-friendly through buying organic and also natural outfits and also charm items, discovering simple energy conserving pointers, and also locating suggestions on buying natural and balance of trade items. The internet ARR increase in Q3 was actually $308 thousand, as well as was actually driven through ongoing strength in our Imaginative Cloud and also Adobe Paper Cloud companies. On the Passion edge 3's do not carry out extremely well, that's as a result of your vivid beaming lighting you entice demanding and also dominating individuals as well as for you balance and an equal exchange in a connection from any sort of kind, family, good friends, fanatics- is important to you, it is actually essential when it's not, at that point you're not delighted. The typical individual instruction for a 5K does great along with approximately 0.5 grams of healthy protein every extra pound of body system weight, to ensure 140-pound person profit from 70 grams each day. I supplemental resources sit myself down as well as tell myself just how I'm heading to begin cleansing the house daily and also paying my expenses punctually and replying to emails before my inbox hits quadruple digits.
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Joe Biden Is A Hero Among Women’s Rights Groups. But It Wasn’t Always That Way.
WASHINGTON Joe Biden will leave a legacy of staunch advocacy for womens rights when he steps down as vice president in a week. He was a leader in passing and renewing the 1994 Violence Against Women Act and has been the chief advocate of the Obama administrations national campaign to combat sexual assault on college campuses.
Those achievements, among others, were no small reason he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Thursday, the nations highest civilian honor.
Biden touted his role in elevating the seriousness and pervasiveness of sexual harassment in a September 2015 speech, noting that his work dated as far back as 1991: During the Clarence Thomas hearings, one of the things that emerged was the issue of sexual harassment. … It was the thing that no one wanted to touch. I remember saying to my colleagues, This is so much bigger than a single judge.
Advocates say Biden is now one of their strongest champions on issues of violence against women. But they remember a different, more complicated story of Thomas confirmation hearings, where Biden played a less heroic role. As the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 1991, Biden was essentially the last line of defense in Thomas nomination to the Supreme Court.
When Anita Hill, a law professor and Thomas former employee, described how he had harassed her by pressuring her to date him and carrying on inappropriate sexual conversations, it was Biden who had the power to make sure her allegations received the consideration they deserved. They didnt, and Thomas remains on the court today as one of its most conservative justices.
In the years since the hearings, there has been much debate over the way Biden handled them. Even those who applaud Bidens more recent work for womens rights regret that he didnt fight harder to defend Hill against the GOP onslaught. In particular, theres still resentment over the fact that other women who could have strengthened Hills credibility never testified.
In some respects, I was deeply disappointed with his performance and with the performance of every member of that Judiciary Committee at the time, said Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Womens Law Center. And in fact, I felt devastated by the whole process as it unfolded.
An aide to the vice president pointed to Bidens record on womens rights over the years as what his legacy will be as he steps down.
The VP has been a stalwart champion of women, the aide said. He is the author of one of the most important pieces of legislation aimed at helping survivors of gender-based violence: The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). He championed it from original drafting to enactment, and has been instrumental in its reauthorization ever since.
But as his career in public office potentially draws to a close or at least enters a new phase Bidens legacy may be best understood as an evolution, from the missteps of the Thomas hearings to his later accomplishments.
If Thats Sexual Harassment, Half The Senators On Capitol Hill Could Be Accused
Even before Hills sexual harassment allegations became public, Thomas was a controversial choice to replace legal titan Thurgood Marshall, the first and only African-American to serve on the Supreme Court.
There were questions about Thomas fitness for the position and whether he truly was, as President George H.W. Bush called him, the best qualified [nominee] at this time. Thomas had worked in civil rights at the Department of Education for one year and then chaired the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for eight years before Bush nominated him for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1990. Bush named him to the highest court 16 months later, on July 1, 1991.
Womens groups expressed concern about Thomas weak record on womens issues and civil rights long before they knew the name Anita Hill. But on Sept. 28, the Senate Judiciary Committee went ahead and voted 7-7 to send Thomas nomination to the full Senate without an endorsement.
Behind the scenes, however, there was far more going on than the public realized. Hill had worked with Thomas for two years, at both the Department of Education and the EEOC. During that time, Hill said Thomas repeatedly tried to pressure her into dating him, talked about the pornography he enjoyed watching and made other sexually explicit comments (including an infamous joke about pubic hair on a can of Coke).
Hill initially planned to stay silent about her experiences, but she started to tell friends what Thomas had done to her after the White House announced his nomination, according to Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson, the authors of Strange Justice, the most in-depth look at the Thomas proceedings. Hill was not some diehard partisan who wanted to take down Thomas, but rather a reluctant witness who felt a duty to provide officials with information that might be helpful.
Word about a woman Thomas had harassed started to reach Senate aides. Eventually, it reachedBiden, just days before the committees planned Sept.28 vote.
According to Mayer and Abramsons account, although Biden later said he recognized from the beginning that Hills accusations were a giant incendiary bomb, he didnt act like they were. [N]either he nor any other senator had spoken to Hill in an effort to draw an independent judgment about her credibility, they wrote.
None of the Senate leaders including Democrat George Mitchell, the majority leader, and Republican Bob Dole, the minority leader saw any reason to delay the committee vote so there could be further investigation.
It wasnt until after the vote, on Oct.6, when the press got ahold of the story and publicly identified Hill, that the members of the all-white and all-male Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington truly seemed to realize what they had on their hands. And even then, many senators didnt seem to know what to do or thought they couldnt stop the nomination from moving forward. Mitchell had already scheduled a vote of the full Senate for Oct.8 at 6 p.m.
They were pretty far along in the process and their position, as I recall it, was that it was too late, said Kim Gandy, who was a national officer with the National Organization for Women at the time. It was disruptive to the process and they had passed that point already, which didnt seem like a good reason to us.
Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio) may have summed up senators reaction to Hills allegations best when he reportedly declared, If thats sexual harassment, half the senators on Capitol Hill could be accused.
There werent many women in Congress at that time just 29 in the House and two in the Senate but they were outraged that Mitchell refused to delay the vote on Thomas. They wanted Bidens committee to reopen the hearings and allow Hill to testify.
What disturbs me as much as the allegations themselves is that the Senate appears not to take the charge of sexual harassment seriously, said Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who was then the only female Democratic senator.
Bettmann/Getty Images
Anita Hill is sworn in before testifying. Hill worked with Clarence Thomas and alleged that he sexually harassed her.
On the day of the scheduled confirmation vote, a number of female House members took to the floor to deliver 60-second speeches in support of Hill. When Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) spoke out and demanded a delay on Thomas nomination, angry male congressmen said her words should be struck from the record and she should be censured for the day. Women across the country flooded the phone lines in the offices of Mikulski and Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-Kan.), the only other female senator at the time, calling for a delay.
That same day, seven female House members marched across the Capitol and demanded to talk to Mitchell, who was then in his weekly caucus meeting. The women were barred from entering, until one of Mitchells aides eventually came out and told them hed talk to them.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) was part of that historic moment, and told The Huffington Post that they also talked to Biden and demanded Hill be allowed to tell her story. That conversation didnt go well, she said.
He basically said we didnt need to stay because she wasnt going to speak, said Slaughter. No, it was not good. The whole thing was a bad scene.
Under strong public pressure, Mitchell eventually convinced Republicans that without a delay, 10 Democratic senators who had previously said they would vote for Thomas would switch sides.
Biden was under pressure from Republicans as well primarily Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.), Thomas chief sponsor. Biden initially wanted a two-week delay, but Danforth convinced him that fairness demanded the proceedings to move faster. Biden scheduled Hills testimony for Oct.11, and agreed that the Judiciary Committee would not take another vote before sending Thomas to the full Senate on Oct.15. He also said he would keep questions about Thomas general sexual conduct such as his interest in pornography out of the hearings.
Joe bent over too far to accommodate the Republicans, who were going to get Thomas on the court come hell or high water, Metzenbaum later told Mayer and Abramson.
Biden also handed a major victory to Republicans in agreeing to let Thomas testify both before and after Hill most crucially, scheduling his response to her allegations for 9 p.m. on a Friday, when millions of people were tuned in for their primetime broadcast.
Mark Reinstein/Getty Images
Clarence Thomas was allowed to testify both before and after Anita Hill.
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In her 1997 memoir, Hill said she felt Biden betrayed her in doing so. She wrote that three days earlier, Biden had told her over the phone that she had the option to testify whenever I wish first and last.
What I did not know was that between the phone call and the eve of the hearings, he had given the same assurances to Judge Thomas, she wrote. Nor had anyone informed me how long Judge Thomas might testify or when I could expect to be called.
Biden had originally planned to have Hill close out the hearings. But he gave in to pressure from Thomas handlers, who threatened the Supreme Court nominee would hold a press conference saying he had been denied the opportunity to defend himself.
I must start off with a presumption of giving the person accused the benefit of the doubt, Biden told The New York Times two days before Hill was set to testify. I must seek the truth and I must ask straightforward and tough questions, and in my heart I know if that woman is telling the truth it will be almost unfair to her. On the other hand, if I dont ask legitimate questions, then I am doing a great injustice to someone who might be totally innocent. Its a horrible dilemma because you have two lives at stake here.
The Other Witnesses
Bidens most divisive and perhaps most significant decision was not calling the other three women who could have strengthened Hills allegations against Thomas to testify. While the womens interviews with committee staff were entered into the record, that did not have the same impact as public testimony.
One of the women was Angela Wright, who worked with Thomas at the EEOC. She said Thomas asked her about the size of her breasts, pressured her to date him, commented on the physical appearance of women in the office and showed up at her apartment one night without warning. Unlike Hill, however, Wright said she considered Thomas behavior obnoxious but not sexual harassment.
Wright had complained of Thomas unwanted behavior toward Rose Jourdain, a colleague at the EEOC at the time. As Mayer and Abramson wrote in their account of the trial, Jourdain independently remembered the bra size incident and also recalled Wright telling her Thomas had talked about the sexiness of her legs.
Sukari Hardnett was the third woman. She worked for Thomas at the EEOC after Hill left but said Hills account of his behavior rang true.
Clarence Thomas pretends that his only behavior toward those who worked as his special assistants was as a father to children and a mentor to proteges. That simply isnt true. If you were young, black, female and reasonably attractive, you knew full well you were being inspected and auditioned as a female, she said in her statement, adding, Women know when there are sexual dimensions to the attention they are receiving. And there was never any doubt about that dimension in Clarence Thomass office.
Wally McNamee/Getty Images
Joe Biden was the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee during Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court nomination in 1991.
There have been several justifications offered for not having these women testify, with no senator willing to take the blame. Biden and his supporters have pointed the finger at the rest of the committee, Hill and her legal team, and Wright personally.
Biden has maintained that he was eager to hear from Wright, but the committee voted 13-1 against calling her; he was the lone supporter, he said. One of his top aides, however, told Mayer and Abramson that that wasnt true Biden, like the other senators, simply wanted the hearings to be over. Metzenbaum later said he didnt recall such a vote and didnt think Biden was anxious to bring Angela Wright on. Former Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.), said he also didnt remember any senators who wanted Wright to testify.
Biden and his top staffers have also said that Hill and her legal team opposed having Wright testify, because Wright did not consider Thomas behavior to be harassment.
They believed that Anita Hills testimony was so strong standing on its own that no matter how good anyone else was, it would be diluted, Biden said in a 1994 interview. It would take away from it.
But Charles Ogletree, a Harvard law professor who was part of Hills legal team, has strenuously denied this claim, calling it absolutely, unequivocally, categorically, and positively false.
Biden has also suggested that Wright didnt want to testify. [T]heres a myth thats grown up that we somehow denied her, Biden recalled in a 2009 interview for Jules Witcovers biography. We had her in town to testify, we expected her to testify, we prepared her to testify; she chose not to testify. She had her own reasons. I dont know exactly what they were. And people say, well, why didnt you have her testify anyway? Well, thats like calling a hostile witness in a case.
Indeed, there is a letter from Biden to Wright dated Oct.13, 1991, in which he stated it was his preference that she testify, but that by the mutual agreement of Wright and the members of the committee, she was released from the subpoena and her interviews would be put in the record instead. Wright signed the letter, acknowledging agreement with its content.
Gil Middlebrooks, Wrights attorney, remembered a slightly more complicated version of events, as he told The Washington Post in 1994. It was true that Wright was a reluctant witness; she didnt want to come forward, and repeatedly pointed out to Senate staffers that they had approached her, not the other way around. But Middlebrooks insisted that Wright was always willing to testify if the committee members truly wanted her to do so.
These people didnt want to hear from us, Jourdain summed up to Mayer and Abramson. Thomass supporters didnt want another woman, especially one with some of the same looks, age, and brains, telling a similar story as Anita Hill. And then, on top of that, shes got a credible backup witness. Nobody wanted to deal with this.
Many Hill supporters also wanted testimony from an expert on sexual harassment, to lend expertise on the subject that was sorely lacking among the men on the committee. Biden said in a 1994 interview that he wanted this to happen, too.
I wanted a panel on sexual harassment to come and testify, so we could put in context what we were talking about, he said. And it was decided by the Hill people that they didnt want that panel to come on. Again, there was a feeling communicated to me secondhand that Anita Hill had won this thing. She had made her case. And I kept saying, wrong, this aint over. I was very disappointed.
Dr. Louise Fitzgerald, a psychologist and academic who had extensively studied sexual harassment, was reportedly ready to testify. Hills legal team said they conveyed her willingness to Senate staffers, but legislators never took them up on the offer. Fitzgerald did not return a request for comment for this story.
I just dont think [the hearing] was designed to really bring out the record, said Susan Deller Ross, who was a member of Hills legal team. The Republicans acted like prosecutors, and the Democrats acted sort of oblivious. So there was no one really ensuring that they actually investigated the issue in depth.
While Biden saw himself as Hills ally albeit one in a tough spot she saw him as someone who ultimately let her down.
There were three women who were ready and waiting and subpoenaed to be giving testimony about similar behavior that they had experienced or witnessed. He failed to call them, she told HuffPost Live in an interview two years ago. There also were experts who could have given real information as opposed to the misinformation that the Senate was giving … and helped the public understand sexual harassment. He failed to call them.
Flatfooted Judgment Calls
Mayer and Abramson characterized Bidens chairmanship of the hearings as made up of a number of flatfooted judgment calls. The Democrats on the committee, they wrote, were in almost total disarray, especially compared with the well-organized Republicans.
There were little moments, like not declaring Sen. Orrin Hatchs (R-Utah) unsubstantiated speculation that Hill had made up her story based on the plot of The Exorcist and a 1988 court case in which a black woman alleged sexual harassment against her supervisor to be out of order. And then there were bigger issues, like having the three additional women testify and giving in to GOP demands on the timing of the hearings and testimony.
The main reason the hearings went the way they did seemed to be the committees desire to move on. But Republicans were also better-prepared. As Maureen Dowd wrote in The New York Times at the time, The Democrats made a pass at figuring out what had happened in the case. The Republicans tried to win. While the Democrats were pronouncing themselves flummoxed by two diametrically opposed stories, the Republicans had already launched a scorched-earth strategy against Professor Hill.
Republicans tapped Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) as their lead questioner, which Mayer and Abramson reported was a politically genius move on the part of Hatch and Danforth. Specter, a lawyer and former district attorney, had opposed Robert Bork, President Ronald Reagans failed 1987 Supreme Court nominee, and he reportedly didnt think Thomas was all that qualified for the job. So they gave Spector a starring role in the proceedings, which he took up gladly.
As soon as [Specter] saw himself as the star prosecutor, he couldnt resist, Biden told Mayer and Abramson. They knew his personality better than he did.
Hill, meanwhile, had no such advocate among the Democrats. She alone had to deal with accusations that she was an erotomaniac, as well as vindictive, delusional and a liar.
Most evident from the televised Judiciary Committee hearings was the fact that I sat in that hearing room without a patron on the panel. That image still resonates. Anita Hill
Democrats also seemed uneasy about going after Thomas too hard because they recognized there was a racial element at play. Thomas lacked the legal experience and accolades of previous Supreme Court nominees, but Democrats didnt want to make the second black Supreme Court nominee in history seem unintelligent.
The thing that got him approved was that the Democrats were scared to death, Vince DAnna, a member of Bidens team during the Thomas confirmation battle, told Witcover. They just wanted this thing to be over with Lets be done with it; lets vote. Nothing good is going to come from it. There were no profiles in courage on that committee.
Biden, too, has said he didnt think Thomas would have been confirmed if he had been white, calling it a cynical ploy by President Bush.
Thomas was the one in my view engaging in racism, and I not only mean racism in terms of playing the race card, but racism in trying to reinforce the stereotypical notion about black women, Biden told Witcover. That was the sin I dont forgive the guy for, and those who were making his case.
Hill declined an interview for this piece,but her thoughts on Biden were made abundantly clear in her 1997 memoir. On the first page of the first chapter, she described Biden as someone who chooses his words carefully and has a rather remarkable smile a grin that spreads from ear to ear in an instant, disclosing perfectly straight teeth. That isnt meant as a compliment.
Hill recalled an Oct.8 phone call in which Biden tried to convince her he was on her side: The only mistake I made, in my view, is to not realize how much pressure you were under. I should have been more aware. Aw kiddo, I feel for you. I wish I werent the chairman, Id come be your lawyer, she recalled him saying.
But Hill said she feels like she was left out to dry.
Most evident from the televised Judiciary Committee hearings was the fact that I sat in that hearing room without a patron on the panel. That image still resonates, she wrote in a 1995 essay. My sin was not simply that I did not have a patron. Nor was it simply that I rejected patronage offered to me, since none was offered. My initial sin in the eyes of the senators was that I dared to come to the body on my own, that I did not actively pursue patronage at the outset.
Thomas didnt come away with a significantly better impression of Biden, believing that the chair had privately offered him his support only to eventually vote against his confirmation. After Thomas eventually won, Biden reportedly left a very gracious congratulatory message on Thomas answering machine, which was greeted by a less than gracious response from Thomas, according to Danforths book on the hearings.
Up until the end, Biden refused to go after Thomas character even after all he heard from Hill and what he knew of the other womens experiences. Although he voted against Bushs nominee in the final count, he said on the Senate floor, For this senator, there is no question with respect to the nominees character.
I could have brought in the pornography stuff, Biden said in a 1992 interview. I could have decimated him with that. I could have raised and with more legitimacy than what [the Republicans] were doing but it would make a lie of everything I fought for…. To go back and say because the guy was 20 years old and he watched pornography at Yale, that that means that theres a nexis between that and whether or not he spoke of pornography 20 years later? Its outrageous. But compelling.
Twenty years earlier, Biden had lost his wife and infant daughter in a car accident just as he was about to enter the Senate. He was very private about the incident and almost never mentioned it, giving him an understanding about the fact that there are certain issues people just dont want to discuss.
Mayer and Abramson also pointed to Bidens more recent experience during the 1987 confirmation fight over Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, when the press went after the Delaware senator forplagiarizing a British politicians speech. Reporters dug into Bidens past, unearthing an instance of plagiarism in law school and exaggerations of his academic record. Biden ended up dropping out of the 1988 presidential race over the issue, even though he had been considered a top contender in the Democratic primary. He had little appetite to give others that same treatment.
The Anita Hill Legacy
Biden seemed pleased with his performance in the Thomas nomination hearings in an interview with Mayer and Abramson for their 1994 book, noting that polls showed that as much as 86 percent of the country knew who he was, and a majority of people believed he had been fair.
Thats a highly unusual exposure rate for a senator, he said. Most voters cant name their own senator. But now everywhere I go, I get recognized.
Since then, Biden has admitted the hearings werent perfect.But hes never given a full apology, as many Hill supporters would like him to do.
In 1992, The Washington Post asked Biden whether Democrats should have been more aggressive.
In my gut I regret it, in my intellect I dont, he said. Because it would have made a lie of everything I say I believe.
Hill said in an interview with Time last year that she believed the hearings made it harder to deal with sexual harassment because they influenced how employers would react to sexual harassment, how universities would react to it, and were still trying to dig out from that.
The Senate, instead of reflecting the best practices that had been developed at that point, lapsed into combativeness, she said. The hearings showed people what happens when representatives dont make a real attempt to get to the bottom of issues and to understand how sexual harassment works.
One thing Biden said in his 2015 speech at Ohio State that was absolutely right was that the hearings ignited the country. They certainly galvanized women to action, as a record number ran in the 1992 elections, citing their anger that Hill had faced a panel of white men who seemed to understand so little about what she went through.
Four more Democratic women Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California, Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois and Patty Murray of Washington won election to the Senate that year. Twenty new Democratic women were elected to the House, and the pro-choice Democratic group EMILYs List grew from 3,000 to 24,000 members. It was dubbed the Year of the Woman.
The Hill hearing electrified the country, Slaughter recalled. I dont think theres any question about it.
Moseley Braun and Feinstein also took seats on the Judiciary Committee, but not without a misstep by Biden. The chairman hand-delivered a dozen red roses to Boxer with the note, Welcome to the Senate Judiciary Committee. News reports at the time described the moment in highly gendered language that Biden had tried to woo Boxer but was scorned and that Biden was going courting while the new senators were playing hard to get.
Those women havent forgotten Hill and her impact. Boxer, who retired last year after 24 years in the Senate, acknowledged Hill in her farewell speech last month.
Without her, I never would have been elected to the Senate, Boxer said. Anita Hill courageously told her story to the all-male U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, breaking the silence on this painful issue.
Hill, too, has said she owes a debt of gratitude to the support she received from female politicians at the time.
I will say: if those women from Congress had not marched over to the Senate and demanded a hearing, I do not think it would have happened, Hill told Time magazine last year. That, to me, is leadership. And thats why we need more women in leadership positions. We havent even come close in terms of representation to a critical mass.
In this new session of Congress, Feinstein is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee the first woman in history to hold that position.
The Cause Of My Life
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Joe Biden made combatting violence against women a central part of his time as vice president.
Bidens mismanagement of the Thomas nomination and Hills allegations is a sharp contrast to the work hes done on womens rights in the years since, particularly when it comes to ending violence against women the cause of my life, as he has called it.
Hes been a really positive ally, and hes opened doors at the White House to these issues in a way that has not existed in my history, said Gandy, who is now president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
I cant name another elected official with the national platform that he has who has been any more passionate or any more effective than he has, Greenberger said. I give him a great debt of gratitude for his championing of these issues at the same time that I remain very disappointed with what happened during those Thomas hearings.
One of Bidens most noteworthy accomplishments is the landmark Violence Against Women Act. Biden shepherded that bill through the Senate, leading to its eventual passage in 1994. The law provided a comprehensive national strategy for dealing with the crisis, including increased penalties for offenders, protections for women who come forward, and funding and support for coordinated community response.
Congress has reauthorized VAWA three times since then, including after a tough legislative fight in 2012 and 2013, in which some Republicans opposed including protections for undocumented immigrants, same-sex couples and Native Americans.
The Violence Against Women Act in 1994 was very hard to pass. This was not a slam dunk by any stretch of the imagination, Feminist Majority Foundation President Ellie Smeal said. And [Biden] made it an issue. It wouldnt pass without him, theres no question about it.
Slaughter, one of the original co-authors of the legislation, also praised Bidens work.
Hes a great guy, she said. Hes a real soldier in the field for the Democratic Party.
Even before Obama won the 2008 election, Biden made clear he wanted the administration to combat sexual assault. The vice president created a new position, White House adviser on violence against women, to ensure that the issue continued to get attention.
That was a real turning point, I think, in terms of the attention that the issue would receive at the highest levels of the White House, Gandy said.
Biden has also sought to address the scourge of sexual assault on college campuses a problem that affects 20 percent of women and 5 percent of men, according to a recent Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll of current and recent college students. Biden toured schools around the country and urged them to change how they deal with violence.
We are the first administration to make it clear that sexual assault is not just a crime, it can be a violation of a womans civil rights, he said in 2011 in a speech at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.
Bidens speech coincided with a letter the Department of Education sent to colleges and universities outlining new guidance about Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. That letter made clear that school administrators had an obligation to act on sexual violence.
If a school knows or reasonably should know about student-on-student harassment that creates a hostile environment, Title IX requires the school to take immediate action to eliminate the harassment, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects, read the Obama administrations letter, which alsothreatened to pull a schools federal funding if the government determined it was not taking steps to address the problem. As of last July, the Education Department had more than 250 ongoing investigations at postsecondary institutions.
In 2014, the White House started a task force to combat student sexual assault and a nationwide campaign to raise awareness. A key part of the strategy was to get men more involved in the efforts, a move away from a culture that so often places the responsibility for sexual assault on women.
He helped bring a lot of men into it, which is also necessary if were ever going to reduce these numbers of sexual assaults on college campuses, Gandy added.
Biden also spoke out forcefully against Trump and his treatment of women during the 2016 election. When audio emerged of Trump bragging about using his celebrity status to grope women, Biden tweeted that what he was talking about was sexual assault.
Im tired of new politicians who want to go to Washington to demean women, Biden said in a speech in Nevada a few days later.
Biden will leave the White House with a far different image than many women had of him in 1991. He is extremely popular in the Democratic Party, able to connect with a wide range of voters in a way that many other politicians envy. There is even talk that he could run for president in 2020.
Womens rights activists say that whatever he does, they hope he stays involved in their fight. Gandy called the Thomas hearings part of Bidens history, but not his legacy, and Smeal said his leadership on womens rights so surpasses what happened in 1991.
I think it takes a big heart and an open mind to evolve, to learn, Greenberger said. And I think that Vice President Biden has demonstrated that in many contexts, but nowhere more clearly than in his strong championing of laws and policies to protect those who have been the subject of sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual mistreatment.
This story has been updated to include comment from Bidens office.
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Why Did Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay
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Why Did Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay
Playing Politics With Violence Against Women
An ad from Alison Lundergan Grimes knocks Sen. Mitch McConnell for voting two times against the Violence Against Women Act evidence, Grimes concludes, that McConnell has forgotten that over half the voters in Kentucky are women.
But McConnell has never opposed the central purpose of the Violence Against Women Act. In fact, he was a cosponsor of the original bill in 1991, and he has twice supported its reauthorization.
McConnell did vote against a massive crime bill that included the VAWA because it also contained a ban on assault weapons. And he more recently voted against reauthorization of VAWA in 2012 and 2013 because he opposed Democratic expansions of the bill that included provisions for same-sex couples and immigrants, and one that would have allowed Native American tribal courts to try non-Native Americans accused of domestic violence on reservations. In both cases, McConnell supported Republican alternatives to those bills that he claimed would have strengthened the Violence Against Women Act.
Throughout her campaign, Grimes has highlighted womens issues, and her campaign website says that the contrast between her and McConnell on that front could not be starker. Drawing that contrast is the aim of this latest ad, the third in a series that features a Kentucky resident sitting beside Grimes and posing a rhetorical question to McConnell. We previously reviewed the first two installments, one on Medicare, the other on jobs.
McConnells History on VAWA
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
In the 2007 case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Supreme Court upended longstanding precedent and held that employees could not sue for pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if their employers original discriminatory pay decision occurred more than 180 days before they initiated a claim.
Congress acted swiftly to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to overturn the Courts decision. The Act made it clear that each discriminatory paycheck not just an employers original decision to engage in pay discrimination resets the period of time during which a worker may file a claim of pay discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national origin, age, religion and disability.
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Its another delay in a decades-long effort to close the wage gap, which has the potential of widening after this recession. According to a study by economists at Northwestern University, past recessions have typically narrowed the gender pay gap because men were more likely to lose their jobs and return to work in lower positions after being out for an extended period of time. But the pandemic recession will have the opposite effect, widening the gap because its women, this time, who will be out of work longer than men.
The Paycheck Fairness Act sought to build on past legislation the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 to eliminate the gap. The bill would require employers to prove why a pay disparity exists, bar them from asking employees about their salary history and build in more transparency and avenues for recourse if workers feel their employers are paying them unfairly.
One of the other reasons for the persisting gender wage gap is the jobs workers are concentrated in. Women work in two-thirds of the 40 lowest paid jobs in the country, and men are concentrated in the highest earning fields, driving the gap in earnings.
Murray said that argument is offensive.
Economists who have studied the gender pay gap have said unequivocally that the issue goes beyond personal choice.
More from The 19th
Barriers for Black women set U.S. economy back by $500 billion, report finds
Why These Republican Women Voted Against Equal Pay For All
In a not-so-surprising move, Republican senators, including all four Republican women, unanimously voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act on Monday night. The law would make it easier for employees to talk about wagesâand potentially help women learn whether they earn less than their male colleagues. It would also force employers to explain or justify why two similarly qualified workers earn different wages.
This is the third time since 2012 that Republicans have voted down the bill.
Pay disparities between women and men are a reality. Recent research that in some industriesâsuch as financeâwomen earn as little as 66 percent of menâs wages. Overall women take home about 71 cents for every dollar men earn.
Low-income women also suffer from gender-based wealth disparities. According to the National Womenâs Law Center, the poverty rate for women is 13 percent, while only 11 percent of men live in poverty. Women in low-wage jobs make 13 percent less than men who do similar work.
Senate Gop Blocks Paycheck Fairness Act For The Second Time
Senate Republicans on Monday blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that Democrats are pushing as part of their message to women in the midterm elections.
Democrats needed 60 votes to advance the legislation but fell short in a 52-40 vote. Sen. Angus King , who caucuses with Democrats, voted against the bill.
Republicans had blocked the same bill earlier this year in a 53-44 vote.
Senate Democrats said they were giving Republicans another opportunity to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.
A woman who performs the same work as a man should be paid the same as a man, Senate Majority Leader Harry ReidHarry Mason ReidBiden grapples with twin crisesFive takeaways from Biden’s week of chaos in AfghanistanWhite House seeks to shield Biden from GOP attacks on crime issue said. Senate Republicans simply cannot accept that notion. American women deserve better.
The Paycheck Fairness Act is part of Democrats Fair Shot agenda that is meant to draw a contrast with the GOP ahead of Novembers election. The Senate is also expected to vote on raising the minimum wage and allowing students to refinance their loans, all measures that have already failed this year.
Republicans say the Democrats are wasting time on political show votes. The Senate will need to pass a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government funded after Sept. 30 or the government will shut down.
Republicans need six seats to gain control of the Senate.
These 2 Nj Republicans Sponsored Equal Pay For Women Bill Then Voted No Heres Why
New Jersey Republican Congressmen Rep. Jeff Van Drew, center, and Rep. Chris Smith, right, voted against a bill they co-sponsored after it was amended to the point where they could no longer back it. Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media
Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Alone among House Republicans, Rep. Chris Smith two years ago co-sponsored legislation outlawing pay discrimination against women. When the bill was reintroduced this year, Smith co-sponsored it again, joined by New Jerseys other House Republican, Jeff Van Drew.
But when the House passed the legislation Thursday, both Smith, R-4th Dist., and Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., voted no. The third Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., was the only member of his party to vote yes.
The two New Jersey lawmakers said the bill that reached the House floor was not the one they agreed to support, and Smith said it was too late to remove their names once they saw the changes.
Its not the same bill, Van Drew spokesman Scott Weldon said.
Smith said the bill was amended to include benefits for pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, and that repeatedly has been interpreted to include abortion coverage.
Im committed to equal pay for equal work, Smith said. Im not for forcing employees, including churches and synagogues, to subsidize abortion on demand.
The measure passed in a 217-210 vote, and it advances to the Senate.
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Most Republicans Oppose Measure Say There Are Better Ways To Get Pay Parity Without Lawsuits
Lindsey McPherson
House Democrats on Wednesday passed another one of their top party priorities, a bill called the Paycheck Fairness Act that is designed to help close the gender pay gap.
HR 7 passed, 242-187, with only seven Republican votes. Those included New Jerseys , an original cosponsor of the bill, Floridas Mario Diaz-Balart, Idahos Mike Simpson, New Yorks Tom Reed, Texas Will Hurd, Pennsylvanias Brian Fitzpatrick and Illinois Rodney Davis. All 235 House Democrats voted for the measure.
Smith and Diaz-Balart are the only two Republicans left in the House who voted for prior versions of the bill when Democrats brought it the floor the last two Congresses they were in the majority. In 2008, it passed , with 14 Republicans supporting it. And in 2010, it passed 256-163, with 10 Republicans backing it.
Diaz-Balart told Roll Call before the vote that he planned to remain consistent and vote for the measure because it was not substantially different from the prior versions. But he lamented that Democrats werent willing to address Republican concerns to make the bill more bipartisan.
I wish that Democrats had actually put something forward that actually could get close to becoming law, he said. Theres things I dont like in it, obviously, but I have voted for it, in essence, twice before.
Republicans opposing the legislation said it would open the door to frivolous lawsuits.
Flashback: Pelosi, Lewis and House Democrats unveil legislative agenda for 116th
Gop Blocks Equal Pay Bill In Senate
Video: Global Warming Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit …
Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to block the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation designed by Democrats to mobilize women voters in the midterm elections.
The bill, which would require employers to be more transparent about wages and prohibit them from retaliating against workers who raise concerns about pay, failed to get the 60 votes needed to move forward with debate. The vote comes a day after a well-publicized, coordinated push on equal pay by the White House and congressional Democrats. But the latter arent bothered by that failure — they expected it, and the rejection allows them to keep hitting Republicans on the issue moving toward November.
For some unknown reason, Senate Republicans do not appear to be interested in closing the wage gap for working women, Majority Leader Harry Reid said before the vote, which fell mostly on party lines.
Republicans, though, seem unbothered by recording a vote against this bill, which they have dismissed as a political ploy to benefit Democrats in an election year. GOP senators argued that its already illegal to discriminate against women in the workplace, and that the legislation regarding pay regulation would open the doors to frivolous lawsuits.
GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell has criticized Democrats push for the bill as a way to move voters focus away from the health care law.
Senate Republicans Reject Equal Pay Bill
On Tuesday, during a news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wondered out loud whether Republican senators who had tweeted support for the idea of equal pay for equal work could be counted on to vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2014.
On Wednesday, Pelosi got her answer.
Despite weeks of heavy messaging, Democrats failed to get a single GOP vote as the third attempt in recent years to pass the wage equality legislation fell six votes short.
The promise of equal pay for equal work should not be a partisan issue it should be a matter of common sense and fairness, an essential step for the security of our families, the growth of our economy, and the strength of our middle class, Pelosi said in a statement after the vote.
Unfortunately, Senate Republicans disagree, she added.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski , had 52 sponsors, but Democrats were unable to persuade Republicans to vote for the legislation, which needed to clear a 60-vote threshold to open debate on the bill.
Had it passed, the bill would have made it illegal for employers to retaliate against workers who inquire about or disclose their wages or the wages of other employees in a complaint or investigation. It also would make employers subject to civil actions by employees who feel aggrieved. As part of the bill, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would be required to collect pay information from employers.
Wesley Lowery
There Still Isnt Unity Among Democrats On The Filibuster
Senate Democrats are still fractured as ever on eliminating the filibuster, with Manchin and Sinema among those who are the most vocal opponents of such a move. I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster, Manchin recently reiterated in a Charleston Gazette op-ed.
Other senators in the Democratic caucus have recently signaled that they have reservations about getting rid of the filibuster as well, although some, including Sens. Jacky Rosen and Angus King , have indicated a willingness to consider it if necessary.
Its unclear just how much these votes could potentially sway them if at all. For months Manchin and Sinema have emphasized that theyre focused on preserving the filibuster so the minority still has a voice in the Senate. What repeated failed votes could do is establish a record Democrats can point to if they ultimately pursue rules changes.
Its an effort that echoes how Democrats built up to reforms to the nominees filibuster in 2013, when Republicans slow-walked appointees put forth by President Barack Obama. That year, Democrats voted to do away with the filibuster on most presidential nominees after Obamas defense secretary pick, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pick, and Circuit Court judge picks ran into Republican obstruction.
He seems intent on maintaining the same position meaning the filibuster is likely here to stay, for now.
Senate Republicans Propose Stripped
Laura Bassett
in Congress have taken a lot of heat over the past few years for repeatedly blocking ‘ equal pay legislation, so this year GOP women senators are proposing a bill of their own to combat the gender wage gap. But the GOP’s stripped-down version of the Paycheck Fairness Act has so far garnered nothing but eye rolls from across the aisle.
Sen. Deb Fischer , joined by GOP Sens. Kelly Ayotte , Susan Collins and Shelley Moore Capito , introduced the Workplace Advancement Act last week, which would make it illegal for employers to retaliate against employees for talking to each other about their salaries. The retaliation provision is one of many in the Democrats’ Paycheck Fairness Act, which would also require employers to report wage data broken down by gender to the federal government, set up negotiation skills training programs for women and girls, and help women sue for back pay once they realize they’ve been earning less than their male colleagues for the same work.
Republicans have blocked the Democrats’ bill three times in the Senate, claiming that it would cause job losses. Now that the GOP controls the Senate, Fischer is challenging Democrats to support her bill, since it’s the only one with a chance of getting a vote.
Fischer’s office pointed out that two Democrats and one independent, Sens. Angus King , Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin , supported her equal pay amendment to the GOP’s fiscal 2016 budget, saying that means they’d be likely to support her bill.
All For Equal Pay But Not This Bill
Heres a radical notion: It is simultaneously possible to believe that women are entitled to equal pay and to not support the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Not that youd know it from the rhetoric President Obama and fellow Democrats are happily flinging at Republicans who dare to oppose the measure.
I dont know why you would resist the idea that women should be paid the same as men and then deny that thats not always happening out there, Obama said Tuesday. If Republicans in Congress want to show that they do, in fact, care about women being paid the same as men, then show me. They can join us, in this, the 21st century and vote yes on the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Last week, as Senate Republicans blocked the measure from moving forward on the floor, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., issued a similar blast. If Senate Republicans are ideologically opposed to ensuring equal pay for equal work, they are free to vote against passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, he offered.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., went even further. It is outrageous that in 2014 some in Congress apparently still think that women dont deserve to earn the same amount as a man for doing the same job, she said in a statement.
Oh come on.
House Republicans Vote Against Equal Rights For Women
A House resolution removing the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment passed Thursday with just five GOP votes.
Nearly every House Republican voted against a resolution that could help ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Thursday, citing a litany of excuses not to enshrine equality on the basis of sex in the Constitution.
The House of Representatives voted, 232 to 183, for a to remove the 1982 deadline for states to ratify the ERA. Five Republicans joined all 227 Democrats present in voting for the measure; 182 Republicans and a conservative independent voted against.
During Thursday’s floor debate, some Republicans they opposed the resolution on constitutional grounds, but many argued against the Equal Rights Amendment on its merits.
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner warned that banning discrimination would mean women could no longer enjoy discounts. “Girls get substantially lower rates on auto insurance because they’re better drivers,” he said, adding that, with a constitutional ban on sex discrimination, such advantages “would become unconstitutional and girls are going to have to pay boy-drivers’ rates for auto insurance.”
Sensenbrenner also said that, although women “live longer than men,” women would also have to pay more for life insurance than they do now.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler said the ERA “would not bring women any more rights than they currently have right now.”
TAGS
Senate Fails To Advance Paycheck Fairness Act
Oriana Gonzalez
The Senate on Tuesday failed to advance the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation intended to address the gender pay gap.
The big picture: The 49-50 vote saw Democrats in support and Republicans opposed. At least 60 votes were required to end the filibuster and move the measure to the floor for a vote.
The bill would “provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex.”
Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was the only republican to vote in favor.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that Democrats’ agenda is up against GOP resistance, and is “transparently designed to fail,”CNN writes.
Most Republicans support the Wage Equity Act, introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik , which would encourage companies to voluntarily analyze employee pay and direct GAO, an independent government agency, to study the impacts of women leaving the workforce for family-related reasons.
What they’re saying: “he only way that a bill to provide equal pay to women is designed to fail is if Senate Republicans block it,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, per CNN.
Background: The legislation passed the House 217-210 in April along party lines, making it the fourth time Democrats have attempted to pass the act. It previously passed the House in 2008, 2009 and 2019.
Senate Republicans Defeat Womens Equal Pay Bill Again
Mark Gruenberg
WASHINGTONBy a party-line 50-49 vote, every Senate Republicaneven the womendefeated HR7, the bill to put teeth into the Equal Pay Act that helps working women. All 47 voting Democrats backed it, as did both independents. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was absent from the 6:42 pm vote on June 8. It was the fourth time the Senate Republicans beat the bill over the years.
The GOP phalanxs success meant senators couldnt even debate the Paycheck Fairness Act, HR7, which the Democratic-run House approved earlier this year. Instead, the GOP filibuster threat prevailed. The 50-50 Senate needs 60 votes to shut off such talkathon threats.
The loss is in line with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnells blockade of all Democratic legislation, and his embrace of both the corporate class agenda and of Trumpism. Republicans follow the Kentuckians orders like sheep.
Unions and womens groups strongly supported the legislation, authored, as usual, by influential Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. It would put teeth into the almost 60-year-old Equal Pay Act by eliminating corporate excuses for discriminating against women in pay. Instead, firms would have to prove unequal pay is not due to prejudice against women workers.
It also would make it easier for wronged women workers to find out, in broad categories, what their privileged male colleagues with the same credentials earn, and to sue if their pay isnt equal.
Republicans Filibuster Equal Pay Legislation In Latest Display Of Shameless Obstruction
Fix Our Senate: âThis is the latest example of Republican obstreperousness and another clear demonstration that the filibuster must be eliminated as Sen. McConnellâs weapon of partisan obstruction.â
Supermajority: “This is why we support eliminating the filibuster â because itâs too often a tactic to block racial justice and equity”
WASHINGTON, D.C. â Today, after Senate Republicans filibustered the Paycheck Fairness Act, Sen. Patty Murrayâs bill to help address the gender pay gap in America, Fix Our Senate and Supermajority released the below statements calling on Democrats to finally eliminate the filibuster. Tonightâs vote comes on the heels of a Senate Republican filibuster that blocked the bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection and as the House continues to pass critical legislation destined to die in the Senate until the filibuster is fixed.
“Sen. McConnell is doing exactly what he promised to do: spending 100 percent of his energy blocking President Bidenâs popular agenda that is supported by a majority of Americans and a majority of their representatives in Congress,â said Fix Our Senate spokesman Eli Zupnick. âThis is the latest example of Republican obstreperousness and another clear demonstration that the filibuster must be eliminated as Sen. McConnellâs weapon of partisan obstruction.â
Background
Equal Pay For Equal Work Seems Like A No
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans blockedfor the third timethe Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill proposing to close the pay gap between men and women. The goal of the billthe attainment of equal pay for equal workseems like a no-brainer, right? Women with the same job, and same qualifications, as men deserve to be paid the same. They do not deserve to be discriminated against in salary on the basis of gender. Seems obvious. And yet not a single Republican voted in favor of the Act, and many Americans no longer know what to think, either.
The problem is that the message has been greatly muddled, twisted, and usurped, mostly for political gain. Equal Pay has become less a noble, unquestionable goal than a political talking point. Democrats argue that wage disparities persist, pulling out the oft-cited figure that women, on average, earn 77 percent to a mans dollar. They accuse Republicans of failing the bill in favor of more important political agendas.
Which means that both parties want the same thing. So whats the problem? The problem, of course, is politics. And unfortunately nothing will happen until Democrats and Republicans agree to make Equal Pay a fairness issue rather than a political one. In the meantime, its women who suffer.
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The Equal Pay Act Today
The EPA, which passed as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1963, “prohibits discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers.” Specifically, the EPA provides that employers may not pay unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal jobs and work at the same establishment. Substantially equal jobs has been interpreted to mean jobs that require similar skill , effort and responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions. An employers work establishment is generally understood to mean a distinct physical place of business rather than an entire business or enterprise consisting of several places of business.
The EPA permits unequal pay for equal work if it is the result of wages being set pursuant to: 1) a seniority system; 2) a merit system; 3) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or 4) any factor other than sex. These four circumstances constitute the statute’s four affirmative defenses against claims of wage discrimination.
At the outset of a case, the employee has to establish a prima facie case of gender-based wage discrimination under the EPA by showing that different wages are paid to employees of the opposite sex who work in jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions in the same establishment. This is a very high burden to meet.
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