[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 128 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT OF 2007

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                               speech of

                            HON. TODD TIAHRT

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2007

  Mr. TIAHRT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2831, 
the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Although I join with all my 
colleagues in steadfast opposition to pay discrimination, this ill-
advised, over-reaching, and disingenuous overhaul of civil rights law 
is the wrong approach.
  Pay discrimination is not a partisan issue. Pay discrimination 
strikes at the heart of the American Dream. For more than 40 years, 
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act has made it illegal for 
employers to determine an employee's pay-scale based on his or her 
gender. I whole-heartedly agree and support this law. Every American 
should be able to work hard, play by the rules, and make a living for 
his or her family. We do not stand for gender discrimination in the 
workplace.
  This legislation is bad politics rather than good policy. H.R. 2831 
was supposedly written to remedy a sad situation for one person--Lilly 
Ledbetter. She was apparently paid significantly less than her 
counterparts at Goodyear Tire Company during her tenure there. Decades 
later Ms. Ledbetter filed a claim of discrimination. Taking her claim 
through the courts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 29, 2007, that 
the statute of limitations had unfortunately run out.
  Despite saying that H.R. 2831 simply restores prior law, by 
overturning a Supreme Court ruling against Ms. Ledbetter, in reality, 
Democrats will gut a decades-old statute of limitations that prevents 
the filing of ``stale'' claims and protects against abuse of the legal 
system.
  Current law rightly provides a statute of limitations to file a 
discrimination claim, up to 300 days after the alleged workplace 
discrimination occurred. However, under this bill, employees or 
retirees could sue for pay discrimination years, even decades, after 
the alleged discrimination.
  How can a company defend itself when the accused offenders left the 
company decades before? The answer is--they can't. And that is exactly 
the answer desired by the trial lawyers who support this legislation. 
This legislation will not end pay discrimination, but it will certainly 
encourage frivolous claims and lawsuits. It is inevitable that under 
this legislation employees will sue companies for reasons that have 
little if anything to do with the accused discrimination.
  Not only is H.R. 2831 the wrong approach to deal with this serious 
issue, but this legislation also has the threat of a Presidential veto. 
A Presidential veto means there is no chance action will be taken on 
this important issue. If Democrats were serious about dealing with this 
issue, they would work with the President and Republicans to draft 
serious legislation rather than move forward with this political stunt.
  Madam Speaker, the issue of pay discrimination is too important to 
consider this poorly crafted, politically motivated piece of 
legislation. However, as much as we sympathize with Ms. Ledbetter, H.R. 
2831 is bad legislation for our Nation. Let us join together, work in a 
bipartisan manner, and craft legislation that addresses pay 
discrimination while not destroying decades-worth of solid employment 
discrimination law. Until then, I ask my colleagues to join with me in 
opposing this legislation.

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