How Arkansas’ congressional delegation voted
Here is how Arkansas’ U.S. senators and U.S. representatives voted on major roll call votes during the week that ended Friday.
HOUSE
Equal pay for women. Passed 217-210, a bill (HR7) to tighten current federal law against gender-based wage discrimination and prevent employers from paying women less than men for equivalent work. Sponsors of the bill said full-time female workers receive 82 cents for every dollar paid to male counterparts. The legislation would prohibit wage discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or childbirth. Employers challenged in court would have to show that wage disparities are based on factors other than sex — such as education, training or experience — and are a business necessity. Civil penalties would be increased, punitive and compensatory damages would no longer be capped, class-action lawsuits would be facilitated and retaliation would be prohibited against workers disclosing pay information or making inquiries or complaints. Salary history could not be used in the hiring process or in setting pay levels, so that pay gaps would not follow workers from one job to the next. Federal agencies would collect more pay information from employers.
Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said the bill “would give America’s working women the opportunity to fight against wage discrimination and receive the paycheck they have rightfully earned.”
Tom Cole, R-Okla., called the bill “a very blunt instrument being used to address a very complex issue. It’s a bill written by trial lawyers for the benefit of trial lawyers and ultimately causing much bigger problems for employers and employees alike.”
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
✖ Rick Crawford (R)
✖ French Hill (R)
✖ Steve Womack (R)
✖ Bruce Westerman (R)
Self-policing by employers. Rejected 183-244, a proposed amendment to HR7 (above) that would have allowed employers accused of wage discrimination to avoid penalties if during the previous three years they had conducted a job and wage analysis and taken steps to remedy any disparities based on sex that the audit revealed. The amendment would allow employers to put ground rules on disclosure and discussion of wages. The Government Accountability Office would be directed to study causes and effects of wage disparities among men and women, disparities in negotiating skills among men and women, and the extent to which decisions to leave the workforce for parenting reasons affect wages and opportunities. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, said the amendment “creates a voluntary pay analysis system to encourage the good-faith efforts of employers to identify and correct any wage disparities should they exist, creating an environment of consistent self-reflection.” Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., said: “Asking the employer who may be involved in pay discrimination to self-police their practices is a blatant conflict of interest. … The very idea behind this provision is insidious. It presumes that employers should be given loopholes to avoid liability after breaking the law.” A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
✔ Crawford (R)
✔ Hill (R)
✔ Womack (R)
✔ Westerman (R)
Protecting health care workers from violence. Passed 254-116, a bill (HR1195) to order new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules protecting health care and social service employees from workplace violence. The bill’s Democratic sponsors said those workers need special protection because they are exposed to a particularly high risk of on-the-job violence from those they are working to assist. Opponents said the new rules would be rushed and overly rigid. OSHA would have a year to issue an interim standard and 42 months to complete the rule-making process.
Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said: “Every year we fail to enact this legislation we are condemning thousands of nurses, doctors, aides, EMTs and social workers to suffer preventable injuries, sometimes fatal.”
Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said: “This bill would impose yet another careless regulation on businesses that have been heroically fighting on the front lines to battle the covid-19 pandemic.”
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
✖ Crawford (R)
✖ Hill (R)
✖ Womack (R)
✖ Westerman (R)
SENATE
Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state. Confirmed 5642, the nomination of Wendy R. Sherman to the No. 2 position at the State Department. Sherman, 71, was a high-ranking diplomat during the Obama administration and was the chief U.S. negotiator of the 2015 agreement that sought to restrict Iran’s nuclear activities. Former President Donald Trump scrapped that agreement, but President Joe Biden has promised to try to renegotiate the multilateral pact.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
✖ John Boozman (R)
✖ Tom Cotton (R)
Polly Trottenberg, deputy transportation secretary. Confirmed 82-15, the nomination of Polly E. Trottenberg, 57, to the second-ranking post at the Transportation Department. Trottenberg was New York City’s transportation commissioner for the past seven years and was a senior official at the Department of Transportation during the Obama administration. A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
✔ Boozman (R)
✖ Cotton (R)
Gary Gensler, chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission. Confirmed 53-45, the nomination of Gary Gensler as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the body that regulates Wall Street and publicly traded companies. Gensler, 63, who chaired the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama administration and was an undersecretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration, is expected to promote tougher rules and enforcement.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
✖ Boozman (R)
✖ Cotton (R)