Mitt Romney: Wrong On Equal Pay For Women (Just Won’t Admit It)

EMILY’s List President and Elected Officials To Call On Romney To Take A Stand: Conference Call At 3pm EST

WASHINGTON – As the Senate takes up the critically important Paycheck Fairness Act, women want to know where Mitt Romney stands. But Romney isn’t saying.

“I’d make a $10,000 bet that Mitt Romney won’t say where he stands on fair pay because he opposes it,” said EMILY’s List president Stephanie Schriock. “The wage gap costs women an average of over $10,000 a year. That’s betting cash to Romney, but women need that money for groceries, gas, and saving for their families’ futures. Opposing a sensible law that works to end unfair and expensive discrimination is a loser with women voters. Romney knows that, so he’s choosing not to tell us where he stands. That’s just cowardly.”

Schriock will join EMILY’s List alums Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Rosa DeLauro on a conference call at 3pm EST today to call on Mitt Romney to stop leading from under his desk and take a stand on the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Call-in info: 888-325-3989

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Mitt Romney has spent months running from questions on equal pay for women. He won’t say whether he supports the Paycheck Fairness Act or whether he’d have signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and he calls Governor Scott Walker, who repealed equal pay legislation in Wisconsin, a “hero.”

Romney “Has been Silent” on Pay Equity, Asked for Comment 5 Times with No Response. On May 29, 2012 the Washington Times reported on the Romney campaign’s lack of response to questions about his support for pay equity in light of an upcoming vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Times reported that Romney, “has been silent” on the issue. “His campaign didn’t respond to five messages left over the past week seeking his stance on the Paycheck Fairness Act. In April, when he was fending off questions about his stance on women’s compensation, his campaign would only say he ‘supports pay equity’ but would not say any more about the new legislation.” [Washington Times, 5/29/12]

Romney Campaign’s Answer to Supporting Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act? “We’ll Get Back to You on That.” During a conference call with reporters, Romney’s campaign was asked if he supported the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. His aides said they didn’t know. Sam Stein from the Huffington Post asked, “Does Gov. Romney support the Lilly Ledbetter Act?” Six seconds of silence passed before an unidentified aide said, “Sam, we’ll get back to you on that.” [ABC News, 4/11/12]

Romney Declined to Say if he would Have Signed Lilly Ledbetter into Law, Called Scott Walker and Opponents of Equal Pay his Heroes. On April 23, 2012 the New York Times published an editorial commenting on Mitt Romney’s comments on equal pay. The editorial stated that while Romney said he had no intention of repealing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, “he declines to say whether he would have signed that law in the first place, and he calls Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who this month signed a law repealing a 2009 state wage discrimination law, a ‘hero.’ And when Mr. Romney cites Supreme Court justices he admires, he chooses Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts Jr. and Samuel Alito Jr., all of whom voted to deny Ms. Ledbetter justice.” [New York Times, 4/23/12]

In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY’s List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 1,000,000 members across the country, EMILY’s List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY’s List has worked to elect 87 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY’s List had the largest number of members and donors in our 27 year history.