WASHINGTON -- Arkansas' U.S. senators split Wednesday over whether the Senate should proceed with a bill designed to ensure that women receive the same pay as men.
The procedural vote on the bill, often called the Paycheck Fairness Act, was approved 73-25, paving the way for senators to talk about the bill in the coming days. U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat, voted yes. U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican, voted no.
The bill would require employers to prove that pay disparities exist for reasons other than a person's sex; increase penalties for violating the Equal Pay Act of 1963; and prohibit retaliation against employees for talking about their wages.
The motion, which limits debate to 30 hours and essentially prevents a filibuster, needed 60 aye votes to move forward. More than a dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting to proceed.
The House and Senate are scheduled to be in session for less than three weeks before returning home to campaign for the November election.
Wednesday's vote means much of the remaining time this week could be spent debating this legislation. Before voting on the actual bill, a senator could call for another procedural vote with a 60-vote threshold. If that happens, fewer Senate Republicans are expected to vote in favor -- potentially derailing it.
If it were to get to a final Senate vote, the Republican-controlled House is not expected to take up the bill.
Democratic legislators and candidates, meanwhile, are highlighting the measure and Wednesday's vote.
Throughout the morning, Democrats took to the Senate floor to encourage colleagues to allow consideration of the bill.
The Senate last attempted to bring the bill up for consideration in April, but that motion failed 53-44, largely along party lines.
Democrats, who control the Senate, planned to criticize their Republican opponents, regardless of how they voted, according to published reports.
An email circulated to Democratic staff members and reported on by CQ Roll Call on Wednesday refers to a strategy of either criticizing Republicans for voting to discuss a gender-pay-equity bill that they don't support and wasting time or for voting no and blocking a debate.
Boozman supports equal pay for equal work and is willing to update existing laws, but not with this bill, his spokesman Sara Lasure said.
"This bill opens the door to frivolous lawsuits and fatter wallets for trial lawyers. It was defeated five months ago, but Harry Reid is bringing it to the floor again for the members of his caucus who are in political trouble," she said. Reid of Nevada is the Senate majority leader.
Pryor is in a tight race against U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, a Republican, and before the vote, he held a conference call with reporters; his mother, Barbara Pryor; and prominent female Arkansas politicians to try to compare the men's records.
Pryor, a co-sponsor of the bill, said he supports it, because "in today's economy what we see is more and more women are the primary breadwinners for their families."
When women make less than men, it can have a large effect on families and the state economy, he said.
An Arkansas woman makes about 76.8 cents for every $1 earned by a man, according to a 2013 report by the National Women's Law Center.
"The lost income that we are talking about there could pay for a lot of things, circulate the money in the economy. It pays for things like gas to get to work and groceries and clothes for the kids and all of these things," Pryor said. "I just think that it's a basic fairness in our economy that women should get equal pay for equal work."
Pryor did not field reporters' questions during the call. Hours after the vote, Pryor sent a fundraising request to supporters highlighting the vote.
The Pryor campaign contrasted the senators' vote with Cotton's April 2013 vote against a motion to proceed on the House version of the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Cotton spokesman David Ray said gender-based wage discrimination is illegal and that Cotton supports equal pay for equal work.
"When employers break the law, they should be subject to stiff criminal penalties," Ray said. "Sen. Pryor is pointing to a procedural gimmick vote in order to distract from the failed Obama-Pryor economic policies that are forcing millions of women, especially moms, to work longer hours or take second jobs just to make ends meet."
A section on 09/11/2014