It’s been one year since the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7)—and still the Senate has failed to take action. In the absence of meaningful action, with each passing day, women are being shortchanged and harmed by the lack of access to equal pay. The earnings gap between women and men has been a stubborn problem for decades, and it continues to erode women’s wages. Women working full time in the United States collectively earned an estimated $546.3 billion less than their male counterparts in the one year since the House passed the comprehensive equal pay legislation, according to new CAP analysis. (see Methodology and Figure 1) The same CAP analysis found that, on an individual level and in that same period, a full-time working woman earned about $9,585 less than a man on average. Continue reading “$546 Billion and Counting: Senate Inaction on Paycheck Fairness Continues to Shortchange Women”
Tag: Senate GOP
Lobbying blitz yields wins for airlines, corporations, banks, unions
A lobbying blitz on the Senate-passed $2 trillion economic relief package yielded wins for airlines, corporations, banks, unions, hospitals and a slew of other special interests who pressed lawmakers for targeted relief and protections.
The lobbying push by airlines was especially intense, with CEOs calling senators directly and warning of bankruptcy.
One Democratic senator who requested anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes frenzy said airlines usually send their lobbyists to speak to staffers to ask for legislative provisions. In this case, one CEO called personally to warn his company would be in “big trouble” without a direct grant. Continue reading.
Senate rejects GOP attempt to change unemployment benefits in coronavirus stimulus bill
The Senate rejected an attempt by four Republican senators to change boosted unemployment benefits included in a mammoth coronavirus stimulus package.
Senators voted 48-48 on an amendment that would cap unemployment benefits at 100 percent of an individual’s salary before they were laid off. Sixty votes were required for the amendment to pass.
GOP Sens. Ben Sasse (Neb.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Tim Scott (S.C.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) pushed for the changes to the coronavirus aid bill over concerns that the agreement struck by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would “incentivize” individuals not to return to work. Continue reading.
Watch: Reporter spars with Senate GOP as they complain about unemployed people getting too much money
During a press conference addressing the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, GOP lawmakers mentioned an alleged “drafting error” in the $2 trillion coronavirus spending bill. The lawmakers claim there’s a portion of the bill that incentivizes Americans not to work since the relief package could potentially give them more money than their normal incomes.
In a statement put out before the press conference, Senators Tim Scott (R-SC), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Ben Sasse (R-NE), said: “A massive drafting error in the current version of the coronavirus relief legislation could have devastating consequences: Unless this bill is fixed, there is a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work.”
“This isn’t an abstract, philosophical point — it’s an immediate, real-world problem,” they continued. “If the federal government accidentally incentivizes layoffs, we risk life-threatening shortages in sectors where doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are trying to care for the sick, and where growers and grocers, truckers and cooks are trying to get food to families’ tables.” Continue reading.
‘This is a trap’: Progressives sound alarm on Republicans’ Social Security sneak attack hidden in coronavirus bill
Tucked inside Senate Republicans’ gargantuan coronavirus stimulus package is a provision that progressives are warning could significantly damage Social Security’s funding in the short-term and empower right-wing lawmakers to make even deeper cuts to the vital program in the future.
“Senate Republicans are using the coronavirus crisis as a cynical cover to attack our Social Security system,” Nancy Altman, president of advocacy group Social Security Works, warned in a statement.
The GOP’s $1.8 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act would allow businesses to delay payment of the employer payroll tax—one of the primary funding mechanisms for Social Security—for the rest of 2020. Continue reading.
Demands for workers-first stimulus grow as senate GOP fails to ram through $500 billion corporate ‘slush fund’
Senate Republicans late Sunday failed to force through a $1.8 trillion coronavirus stimulus package that Democratic lawmakers, union leaders, and progressive advocacy groups condemned as a massive bailout for corporate America that would have done little to address the urgent economic and medical needs of ordinary people.
A procedural motion to advance the Republican bill, formally known as the CARES Act, received just 47 votes Sunday, well short of the 60 needed for passage. Every Senate Democrat present voted no.
“Republicans can’t seriously expect us to tell people in our communities who are suffering that we shortchanged hospitals, students, workers, and small businesses but gave big corporations hundreds of billions of dollars in a secretive slush fund.”
—Sen. Patty Murray
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) scheduled another procedural vote on the legislation for Monday morning at 9:45 am ET as talks over the bill continued through the evening Sunday. Continue reading.
Rand Paul becomes first senator to test positive for coronavirus
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has tested positive for the coronavirus, a spokesman said on Sunday, becoming the first senator known to contract the disease.
“Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events,” Sergio Gor, Paul’s spokesman, said.
Gor added that Paul “was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.” Continue reading.
Hopes for quick coronavirus stimulus deal break down
Hopes for a quick bipartisan deal on a massive stimulus package quickly unraveled on Sunday as lawmakers remain deadlocked on several key provisions.
A meeting between the four congressional leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to break the stalemate as Democrats voiced concern that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is trying to jam them with a bill they have not signed off on.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said as he left the meeting that they did not have a deal. Continue reading.
Sticking points force stimulus package talks to spill into Sunday
Senate negotiators will return to work on Sunday after failing to reach a bipartisan agreement “in principle” Saturday evening on a massive stimulus package, despite reporting significant areas of consensus.
Lawmakers had hoped to finalize a deal on Saturday evening after missing a deadline Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had set for the end of the day Friday.
Instead, negotiators will work to resolve disagreements in several areas ahead of a key procedural vote scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday. Continue reading.
GOP drafting stimulus package without deal with Democrats
Senate Republicans say they are drafting the text of a mammoth stimulus package to stem the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak, even as they have not yet locked in an agreement on the legislation with Democrats.
GOP senators and White House aides said they are drafting the legislation to reflect areas of agreement with Democrats, as well as writing the final sticking points to reflect what they think could win over Democratic support.
“What the leader has instructed his committees to, with our support, is to finish drafting legislation that reflects agreements reached so far and that the chairman and the majority believe Democrats could be in a position to support by the time we vote,” said Eric Ueland, the director of legislative affairs for the White House. Continue reading.