The Obstructionists on the Fair Pay Act

Here is the Senate roll call vote on HR 2831, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which is designed to allow employees adequate time to discover and file claims against employers who violate equal pay laws. The law would counter the effects of a Supreme Court ruling that bill proponents said put unreasonable time limits on the ability of workers to find out that an employer was paying them less than a colleague because of their gender.

Forty-two senators voted to filibuster the bill. Their votes effectively blocked the bill from further consideration. As in many other bills that have come before the Senate, a minority group of conservatives have exercised veto power over legislation favored by a majority of the Senate and a majority of the American people.