this is time for both Republicans and Democrats to speak. We invite our Republican colleagues to come and speak. Even within the Republican Party, we know there are those who agree with us and those who do not. For those who agree, we would love to hear their voices. For those who do not, let's have a debate. Let's take a look at what are some of the issues being raised as a criticism of the bill. We are ready to talk about it. I have heard some of the most outrageous things on cable TV about why we should not pass this bill. One was accusing us that this will undermine small business. Small business has protections under the Equal Pay Act. Under the existing law--which this would not change--the Equal Pay Act already exempted small businesses that make less than $500,000 in annual revenue per year. It keeps the Equal Pay Act exemption intact. We also have the support of the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. This is a chamber of commerce of small business owners. They support this bill. So we do not believe that is a valid argument. There is another argument going around that for some reason if we pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, somehow or another, we are going to lower the wages men make. That is absolutely one of the most ridiculous, rhetorical, twist-and-turn arguments. It is not factual and it is not legal. It is illegal now to remedy wage discrimination by reducing wages of other employees.…
On the recordJune 5, 2012
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