BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Carter Peterson today released the following statement on the 6th anniversary of President Barack Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law:
“It’s hard to believe that it’s already been six years since President Obama signed the first law of his administration, but I’m so proud it was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. That action was a strong statement about our core Democratic values of fairness and opportunity for all.
“Unfortunately, since that time Republicans have stonewalled any attempt to continue progress on the issue of paycheck fairness. Meanwhile, Louisiana women have fallen further behind. Our state has the pitiful distinction of having the worst gender pay gap in the nation — but our Republican members of Congress, including David Vitter and Bill Cassidy, have consistently opposed any attempt to address this critical issue.
“Louisiana women deserve better. Louisiana families deserve better. They deserve leaders that understand the wage gap hurts middle-class families and holds back our state’s economic potential. Because congressional Republicans have refused to act, Democrats in the Louisiana legislature will continue to stand up and fight for equal pay.”
Every single member of Louisiana’s delegation that was in Congress in 2009 voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act:
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Vitter – NO
(S. 181, Vote #14, 1/22/09)
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Cassidy – NO
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Scalise – NO
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Boustany – NO
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Fleming – NO
(S. 181, Vote #37, 1/27/09)
In addition, Gov. Bobby Jindal voted against Lilly Ledbetter legislation when he was serving in the U.S. House (H.R. 2831, Vote #768, 7/31/07).
In 2014 the American Association of University Women (AAUW) ranked Louisiana as the worst state in the nation for pay inequity. The national gender wage gap is 78 cents on the dollar; however, Louisiana women earn just 66 cents for every dollar paid to Louisiana men. It’s even worse in Boustany’s 3rd Congressional District, where women only earn 61 cents on the dollar.
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