It’s really amazing that anyone could oppose equal pay for women, but that’s Barbara Comstock and her Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives for ya…
NEW TV AD: Bennett Highlights Difference with Comstock on Equal Pay
Comstock Has Opposed Paycheck Fairness Act, Described Equal Pay as a “Partisan Issue”
McLean – LuAnn Bennett’s campaign released its second TV ad today highlighting LuAnn’s support for legislation guaranteeing equal pay for equal work. The ad also notes that the 10th District has the highest wage gap between men and women in all of Virginia and that Rep. Barbara Comstock has voted repeatedly against equal pay for women and families and made disparaging comments against supporters of equal pay. Watch the full ad online here.
The ad opens with LuAnn in an office setting describing why she supports equal pay for equal work. “When you see women paid less than men for doing the same work, that’s not fair,” LuAnn says. “Women around here face the greatest pay disparity in all Virginia, and Washington does nothing. I approve this message because that has to change.”
The ad then contrasts LuAnn’s support for equal pay for equal work with Rep. Comstock’s agenda. Rep. Comstock has voted twice to block consideration of the Paycheck Fairness Act, and has called equal pay a “partisan issue.” The ad ends with the narrator describing that Comstock’s position on equal pay hurts our families’ bottom line.
“When LuAnn gets to Congress, she’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure that women get paid the same as men for doing the same work,” Bennett spokesman Robert Howard said. “It’s unfathomable that Rep. Comstock continues to play partisan politics on equal pay when women and families in her district are the hardest hit in Virginia. Barbara Comstock is out of touch and her partisan position affects every Northern Virginia family’s bottom line.”
BACKGROUND
On equal pay statistics:
- According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), women in the 10th District are paid 67.7% of what men in the district are paid – the largest pay gap among Virginia’s eleven congressional districts [September 2015]
- A United States Congress Joint Economic Committee report, “Gender Pay Inequality: Consequences for Women, Families and the Economy,” also found that the 10th district has the highest gender pay gap in the Virginia (page 42) [April 2016]
On Rep. Comstock’s votes and comments against equal pay:
- Voted twice to block consideration of the Paycheck Fairness Act [H. Res. 189, Vote #148, 4/14/15; H. Res. 200, Vote #154, 4/15/15]
- Voted against motion that would have protected “women’s rights to equal wages” by excluding claims of employment discrimination from the main bill. [HR 758, Vote #500, 9/17/15]
- Said Lilly Ledbetter and other women who advocated for equal pay legislation had a “left wing agenda” and called them “partisan.” [MSNBC, 10/18/12]
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