BATON ROUGE — Today is the fifth anniversary of President Barack Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, and it is also a reminder that David Vitter voted against this legislation, as well as many women appointees, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“David Vitter’s record on women’s issues is extremely troubling,” said Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Director Stephen Handwerk. “During last night’s State of the Union address, one of the biggest applause lines was for pay equity, but Vitter apparently believes corporations should be allowed to pay a woman less for doing the same job as a man.”
In 2009, Vitter voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored protections against pay discrimination based on sex, race, national origin, age, religion and disability.
Another example of Vitter’s anti-women record was his vote against a 2009 amendment by Sen. Al Franken that that withholds defense contracts from companies like Halliburton if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court.
“Vitter had the chance to stand up for women who have been sexually assaulted, and he chose instead to stand up for Halliburton,” said Handwerk. “Corporations were trying to stop their employees from reporting sexual violence, and Vitter decided to side with the corporations against rape victims. Vitter has a truly disturbing pattern of anti-women votes, and this is one of the most troubling examples.”
Vitter’s record also includes frequent votes against women appointees, including the following nominees:
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Vitter was one of only two senators that voted no);
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Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the Fed.
“If it were up to Vitter, the glass ceiling in Washington would be reinforced plexiglass,” said Handwerk.
For more information about Vitter’s record, visit www.vitterforgovernor.com.
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