Though Mitt Romney has continually refused to say whether he would or would not support the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, his running mate and top surrogates are attacking it without reservation.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio criticized the bill on ABC’s This Week Sunday morning. Though he said he agrees with the principle of equal pay for equal work, “just because they call a piece of legislation an equal pay bill doesn’t make it so.”
“In fact, much of this legislation is, in many respects, nothing but an effort to help trial lawyers collect their fees and file lawsuits, which may not contribute at all whatsoever to increasing pay equity in the workplace,” he continued.
Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan made a similar assertion on CBS Thursday when he said the bill “was not an equal pay law.”
“It was about opening up the lawsuits and statute of limitations,” Ryan said.
Also appearing on Sunday’s This Week, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the way Romney speaks of women is “a callous sort of brush-off.” “He refers to women as binders and résumés,” the Florida representative said. “I think anyone who is working out there any making a living–if you’re the most qualified person for the job, you should be able to get paid, you should get paid as much as your male counterpart. Everyone agrees with that principle,” Rubio said. “But just because they call a piece of legislation an equal pay bill doesn’t make it so.”
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