S7928 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 17, 2010 than a trial lawyer bonanza sure to dis- The yeas and nays are mandatory Working families lose $200 billion in in- advantage all employers and depress under the rule. come per year due to the wage gap be- job growth to the disadvantage of all The clerk will call the roll. tween men and women. employees, which results in disadvan- The legislative clerk called the roll. Pay discrimination is hurting our taged employees getting coupons while Mr. KYL. The following Senator is middle class families and hurting our the trial lawyers keep most of the necessarily absent: the Senator from economy. Loopholes created by the money. Alaska (Ms. MURKOWSKI). courts and weak sanctions in the law I urge my colleagues to oppose this The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there have allowed many employers to avoid cloture vote. any other Senators in the Chamber de- liability for engaging in gender-based Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I siring to vote? pay discrimination. ask unanimous consent that the time The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 58, That is why the Paycheck Fairness during the quorum be equally divided nays 41, as follows: Act is so important. between the two sides. [Rollcall Vote No. 249 Leg.] The bill closes loopholes that have The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- YEAS—58 allowed employers to justify pay dis- pore. Without objection, it is so or- Akaka Franken Murray crimination and prohibits employers dered. Baucus Gillibrand Nelson (FL) from retaliating against employees The clerk will call the roll. Bayh Hagan Pryor who share salary information with Begich Harkin Reed The legislative clerk proceeded to Bennet Inouye Reid their co-workers. It puts gender-based call the roll. Bingaman Johnson Rockefeller discrimination sanctions on equal foot- Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask Boxer Kerry Sanders ing with other forms of wage discrimi- Brown (OH) Klobuchar Schumer unanimous consent that the order for Burris Kohl nation—such as race, disability or Shaheen Cantwell Landrieu age—by allowing women to sue for the quorum call be rescinded. Specter Cardin Lautenberg The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. BEN- Stabenow compensatory and punitive damages. Carper Leahy NET). Without objection, it is so or- Casey Levin Tester And it also requires the Department of dered. Conrad Lieberman Udall (CO) Labor to enhance outreach and train- Udall (NM) f Coons Lincoln ing efforts to work with employers in Dodd Manchin Warner Webb order to eliminate pay disparities. CONCLUSION OF MORNING Dorgan McCaskill One of the 111th Congress’s most im- BUSINESS Durbin Menendez Whitehouse Feingold Merkley Wyden portant achievements was passing the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning Feinstein Mikulski Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Restoration business is closed. NAYS—41 Act. That legislation, which is now f Alexander Crapo Lugar law, ensures that women who have Barrasso DeMint been the victims of pay discrimination PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT— McCain Bennett Ensign McConnell get their day in court and can chal- MOTION TO PROCEED Bond Enzi Nelson (NE) Brown (MA) Graham lenge employers that willingly pay CLOTURE MOTION Risch Brownback Grassley Roberts them less for the same work. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under Bunning Gregg Sessions The Equal Pay Restoration Act hon- the previous order, the Senate will re- Burr Hatch Shelby ors the legacy of Lilly Ledbetter, a su- Chambliss Hutchison Snowe sume consideration of the motion to Coburn Inhofe pervisor at a Goodyear Tire Plant in Thune proceed to S. 3772, which the clerk will Cochran Isakson Alabama, who after 19 years of service Vitter Collins Johanns report. Voinovich discovered she had earned 20 to 40 per- The legislative clerk read as follows: Corker Kyl cent less than her male counterparts Cornyn LeMieux Wicker Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 561, S. for doing the exact same job. 3772, a bill to amend the Fair Labor Stand- NOT VOTING—1 Today we had another important op- ards Act of 1938 to provide more effective Murkowski portunity to honor the legacy of remedies to victims of discrimination in the The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this women like Lilly Ledbetter by passing payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for vote, the yeas are 58, the nays are 41. this legislation. other purposes. Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- But instead of standing up for equal The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- sen and sworn not having voted in the economic opportunity for women, Re- ture motion having been presented affirmative, the motion is rejected. publicans said no, and filibustered this under rule XXII, the Chair directs the Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am important bill. clerk to read the motion. very disappointed that the Paycheck I am very disappointed by this out- The legislative clerk read as follows: Fairness Act was filibustered today. come, but I want my colleagues to CLOTURE MOTION The Paycheck Fairness Act passed know that we will not give up this We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- the House on January 9, 2009, by a vote fight. ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the of 256–163 and Senate passage is long Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move overdue. rise today to express my disappoint- to bring to a close the debate on the motion This critical legislation will ment in the failure of the Senate to in- to proceed to Calendar No. 561, S. 3772, the strengthen the Equal Pay Act and voke cloture on the Paycheck Fairness Paycheck Fairness Act. Harry Reid, Patrick J. Leahy, John F. close the loopholes that have allowed Act. After our triumph 2 years ago in Kerry, Carl Levin, Jack Reed, Bernard employers to avoid responsibility for advancing gender equality through the Sanders, Benjamin L. Cardin, Frank R. discriminatory pay. Lilly Ledbetter Act, the first piece of Lautenberg, Ron Wyden, Tom Harkin, Although the wage gap between men legislation signed by President Obama, Amy Klobuchar, Sherrod Brown, and women has narrowed since the pas- the Paycheck Fairness Act would have Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Christopher J. sage of the landmark Equal Pay Act in been another step towards ending gen- Dodd, Patty Murray, Barbara Boxer. 1963, gender-based wage discrimination der discrimination in the workplace. The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- remains a problem for women in the Four decades after the Equal Pay Act imous consent, the mandatory quorum workforce. was signed into law, women still earn call has been waived. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 77 cents for every dollar earned by The question is, Is it the sense of the women only make 77 cents for every their male counterparts. That equates Senate that debate on the motion to dollar earned by a man. The Institute to almost $11,000 less per year. In proceed to S. 3772, a bill to amend the of Women’s Policy Research found that Rhode Island, women on average make Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to this wage disparity will cost women approximately $36,500 where men make provide more effective remedies to vic- anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million $49,000. For full-time, college educated tims of discrimination in the payment over a lifetime in lost wages. Today an Rhode Island workers over 25 years old, of wages on the basis of sex, and for average college-educated woman work- women make an average of $55,000, other purposes, shall be brought to a ing full time earns as much as $15,000 while men average $70,000. This is sim- close? less than a college-educated male. ply unacceptable and shows that the

VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:04 Nov 18, 2010 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G17NO6.024 S17NOPT1 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with SENATE November 17, 2010 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7929 remedies provided by current law are The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 74, First, let me say that the issue of not adequate. Those who dismiss the nays 25, as follows: food safety is an issue that is of pri- disparity as a consequence of women’s [Rollcall Vote No. 250 Leg.] mary importance. We need to make ‘‘choice of work’’ ignore the fact that YEAS—74 sure the food that is put in the retail the wage gap exists even in highly Akaka Feingold Merkley stores as well as in restaurants and skilled industries such as aerospace en- Alexander Feinstein Mikulski every other location in America is ab- gineering and network systems and Barrasso Franken Murray solutely the safest, highest quality data communications analysis. Baucus Gillibrand Nelson (FL) food product anywhere in the world. Bayh Grassley The Paycheck Fairness Act would Pryor Begich Gregg Reed That has always been our reputation. have required employers seeking to pay Bennet Hagan Reid But there are some gaps in the food women less money than their male Bingaman Harkin Rockefeller safety inspection program in the counterparts to justify the difference Boxer Inouye Sanders United States today that have allowed Brown (MA) Johanns Schumer with legitimate business factors. It Brown (OH) Johnson some things to happen. We had a situa- Shaheen Burr Kerry would also have allowed women to Snowe tion in Georgia 2 years ago where we Burris Klobuchar compare their wages to those of their Specter found salmonella in some peanut but- Cantwell Kohl colleagues in the same county, not just Cardin Landrieu Stabenow ter in a location in south Georgia—a their own office, providing a larger and Carper Lautenberg Tester manufacturing location. And while fairer pool of comparative examples. Casey Leahy Thune FDA had the authority to go in and Udall (CO) And the bill would have allowed women Collins LeMieux make an inspection, the way they actu- Conrad Levin Udall (NM) to receive punitive and compensatory Coons Lieberman Vitter ally inspected it was on a contract damages equal to those in cases of Corker Lincoln Voinovich basis through the Georgia Department race-based discrimination. We owe it to Dodd Lugar Warner of Agriculture. They didn’t have the re- Dorgan Manchin Webb the hard-working women of the United Durbin McCaskill Whitehouse sources to do the real oversight that States, especially in these difficult eco- Enzi Menendez Wyden needed to be done. Here we had a com- nomic times, when every penny of NAYS—25 pany that had found salmonella in pea- every paycheck counts, to continue to nut butter with their own inspections Bennett DeMint McConnell fight for equality. Bond Ensign Nelson (NE) and their own product had been sent to I commend the bill’s original spon- Brownback Graham Risch their contractor and salmonella was sor, Secretary Clinton, as well as Sen- Bunning Hatch Roberts found to be positive, and yet they ator DODD and Senator MIKULSKI, who Chambliss Hutchison Sessions didn’t have to report that to FDA. Coburn Inhofe have worked so hard to bring attention Shelby That has been changed in this bill, but Cochran Isakson Wicker to the issue of gender discrimination in Cornyn Kyl those are the types of gaps it is impor- the workplace. I will continue to fight Crapo McCain tant to see changed. alongside my colleagues for the pas- NOT VOTING—1 What is a problem to me right now is sage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. Murkowski a number of things, not the least of f The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this which is the definition of what is a small farmer. Small farmers have been FDA FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZA- vote, the yeas are 74, the nays are 25. granted an exemption, but that provi- TION ACT—MOTION TO PROCEED Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- sen and sworn having voted in the af- sion was changed as recently as this CLOTURE MOTION morning. I understand, also, that it is The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant firmative, the motion is agreed to. Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I suggest up for discussion again now. But the to rule XXII, the clerk will report the definition currently in the bill is that a motion to invoke cloture. the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The small farmer is determined to be a The assistant legislative clerk read farmer with gross receipts smaller than as follows: clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk pro- $500,000. Well, unfortunately, or fortu- CLOTURE MOTION ceeded to call the roll. nately, in my part of the world, cotton We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I today is selling at $1.50 a pound. A bale ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the ask unanimous consent that the order is 500 pounds. It doesn’t take many Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move bales to reach $500,000 in gross receipts to bring to a close the debate on the motion for the quorum call be rescinded. to proceed to Calendar No. 247, S. 510, the The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. from the sale of cotton, and that FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. BURRIS). Without objection, it is so or- doesn’t count peanuts and wheat and Harry Reid, Tom Harkin, Richard Dur- dered. corn and whatever else may go along bin, Jeff Bingaman, Max Baucus, Tom Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I with it. So trying to put an arbitrary Udall, Jon Tester, Benjamin L. Cardin, ask unanimous consent to be allowed number such as that, and saying if you Jeanne Shaheen, Frank R. Lautenberg, to speak as in morning business. have gross receipts in excess of that Herb Kohl, Robert P. Casey, Jr., Jack The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without number the FDA has the authority to Reed, Thomas R. Carper, Bill Nelson, objection, it is so ordered. come on your farm, but if you have less Kent Conrad, Carl Levin, Mary L. Landrieu. Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I than that they do not have the author- am an original cosponsor of S. 510, the The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- ity, I think it is not the proper way to bill we just invoked cloture on, and as imous consent, the mandatory quorum go. I said before the vote, I was going to Secondly, with respect to that issue, call has been waived. actually have to vote against cloture The question is, Is it the sense of the even if they are exempt as a small and I would speak after the vote as to Senate that debate on the motion to farmer, they still have a mandate of a why because we were up against a proceed to S. 510, a bill to amend the huge amount of paperwork that has to timeline. I wish to take a minute to Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act go along with their production on an say I regret to have had to vote against with respect to the safety of the food annual basis. So I don’t know what is cloture. Now that cloture has been in- supply, shall be brought to a close? going to happen with respect to the The yeas and nays are mandatory voked, I guess we will go to the bill, amendment process. We have heard under the rule. and, hopefully, we can make the nec- there may be a filling of the tree and The clerk will call the roll. essary changes in it to improve this there will be no amendments. I hope The assistant legislative clerk called bill. But, frankly, the bill I originally that is not the case. I hope we have the the roll. cosponsored is not the bill that is com- opportunity to have an unlimited Mr. KYL. The following Senator is ing to the floor today. It has been amount of amendments and that we necessarily absent: the Senator from changed in some material ways. As late can get the bill corrected and can then Alaska (Ms. MURKOWSKI). as this morning there were changes make it, at the end of the day, a good The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there being made, and I understand there are bill that will generate a significant any other Senators in the Chamber de- discussions going on right now that vote on this floor. We have also heard siring to vote? may even change it again. there may be no amendments that are

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