Rehberg’s Record: “Wholeheartedly” Voted Against Fair Pay

March is Women’s History month, an opportunity for Montanans to reflect on our state’s trailblazing history of enacting women’s suffrage and electing our nation’s first Congresswoman, Jeanette Rankin.

At a time when women’s issues are front and center in policy debates and the news, we feel it’s important to make Congressman Dennis Rehberg’s record on women’s issues clear. His votes against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act means he rejects the common sense notion that a man and woman should receive equal pay for an equal day of work.

---

Equal Pay For An Equal Day

On the family farm in Big Sandy it doesn’t matter if it’s Jon or Sharla who plants or harvests the crops. All that matters is that the work gets done.

That’s why Jon supported the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which works to put an end to pay-based gender discrimination. With Jon’s support the long overdue bill became law in 2009.

The same can’t be said for Congressman Dennis Rehberg who has irresponsibly voted to deny victims of pay-based gender discrimination ways of getting a fair day of pay.

In April 2007 Congressman Dennis Rehberg marked Equal Pay Day, a day to raise awareness of the pay inequity between men and women, by writing in the Great Falls Tribune, “I wholeheartedly support equal pay for equal performance.”

It only took four months for Rehberg to forget these words and vote against equal pay for an equal day of work by opposing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. [HR 2831, Vote 768, 7/31/07]

This is far from the first time Rehberg has said one thing and done another.

When given a second chance to stand up for Montana women he made the decision to oppose the bill again. [S 181, Vote 37, 1/27/09]

That’s not all. Rehberg also opposed the Pay Check Fairness Act in 2008. The bill would patch loopholes that allow pay discrimination and require differences in pay to be justified. [HR 1338, Vote 556, 7/31/08]

TOMORROW: A call to action