Motion to Recommit YES

Adoption of Democrat Rules Package (15 minutes) NO I voted against the Rules package for the 111th Congress because it repeals term limits for committee chairmen, restricts the Minority’s right to offer a Motion to Recommit legislation on the House floor, and changes Pay-Go making it easier to raise taxes.

H.R. 11 --Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009– NO This bill would amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to allow an employee to seek damages for wage discrimination. Under current law (recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court), a wage discrimination claim must be filed within 180 days of the initial discrimination violation. This bill would effectively do away with the statute of limitations on initiating pay-discrimination lawsuits. I voted NO on this bill because, as noted by the Supreme Court, the filing time limit is an important legislative feature of Title VII that was put in place to ensure swift action in cases of discrimination. Cost: Not available.

H.R. 12 --Paycheck Fairness– NO This bill would allow for unlimited compensatory and punitive damages for private-sector employers (no punitive damages for the federal government) and would not require that an employer be shown to have intended to do harm. As a result, American businesses would be exposed to tremendous risk and financial damage. I am strongly opposed to workplace discrimination and am committed to the principle of equal pay for equal work. However, this bill does not offer any new protections against pay discrimination and encourages discrimination claims to be filed based on allegations that have nothing to do with discrimination. I voted NO on this bill because adequate federal protections are already in place. Cost: A formal CBO score is unavailable; however, the bill text would authorize $15 million in expenditures.