TOPEKA – Kansas Democratic Party Chair Joan Wagnon released the following statement on Mitt Romney’s refusal to say whether or not he supports the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would close loopholes that have been used to get around existing pay equity regulations:

“Mitt Romney’s silence on the issue of paycheck fairness speaks volumes. When women make less, it hurts our economy, our communities, and our families. It means less money in take-home pay that can be spent on goods and services. It’s also unfair to our mothers, sisters, and daughters. Women are not a special interest group. They comprise more than half of America’s population – and Mitt Romney honestly cannot say whether or not he supports efforts to ensure basic fairness."

“Day in and day out, Kansas women go to work, clock in, and do their jobs as well as any of their male colleagues. Thanks to President Obama, who signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, they have the security of knowing that they have legal tools and safeguards at their disposal if they face gender-based paycheck discrimination. What American women don’t know is what Mitt Romney would do as president. Would he sign a repeal of Lilly Ledbetter? Why won’t he stand with American women?"

“President Obama is committed to equal pay because he knows that we’re all in this together. Fairness is a central tenet of an economy that’s built to last. The truth is, Mitt Romney’s silence on the Paycheck Fairness Act is just another aspect of his troubling economic scheme that we in Kansas are now far too familiar with: more tax cuts for the wealthy; fewer rules for big business--the same formula that benefited a few, but crashed our economy and punished the middle class. And American women and working families across the country deserve better than Romney’s failed agenda.”

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