To the editor:

The Jan. 11 Journal-World feature, “How your U.S. lawmakers voted” noted that two bills pertinent to women’s rights were passed by the House recently. One, HR 11, gives plaintiffs more time to file pay-bias lawsuits (within 180 days of the last infraction rather than 180 days from the first infraction) thus voiding the Supreme Court decision that denied a female supervisor, employed by Goodyear, her court claim for equal pay because she had discovered the inequity years after it had begun.

The second, HR 12, strengthens the federal law banning pay discrimination based on gender by empowering women alleging such bias to sue for recovery of back pay as well as punitive and compensatory damages. Such legislation appears long overdue.

Somewhat surprisingly, our new representative, Republican Lynn Jenkins, voted against both of these bills. Since these votes seem to indicate that she does not support a woman’s right to equal pay for equal work, perhaps she will agree to receive less salary than her male congressional counterparts. If so, this would not only make her actions consistent with her vote, but would also be somewhat helpful to taxpayers during the economic downturn we are all facing.

Robert A. Duver,
Lawrence