Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, today I'm rising to oppose this bill. We are all for fair pay; we are all for equal pay for equal work, and we are all against discrimination. But, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2831 does much more than just simply overturn a Supreme Court case in order to provide relief to one plaintiff, Lilly Ledbetter. It constitutes a major change in and extended application of employment discrimination law. In my opinion, what this change would do would serve to impede justice and undermine the important goal of having allegations of discrimination expeditiously resolved. The bill essentially limits the 1964 Civil Rights Act statute of limitations regarding almost every claim of discrimination available under Federal law and potentially broadens the scope and application of the civil rights laws to entirely new fact patterns, practices and claims. It also would allow an employee or any individual who can arguably claim to be affected by an allegedly discriminatory decision relating to compensation wages, benefits, or any other practice to sue for discrimination that may have occurred years or even decades in the past. The anticipated increase in legal and recordkeeping costs created by this legislation would, indeed, be staggering. Congress should not be in the business of removing incentives for prompt resolution of discrimination claims.”