Romney's Confusing Stance on Equal Pay for Women

Obama for America Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter issued the following statement in reaction to the Romney campaign’s series of answers on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act:

“It’s troubling that Mitt Romney’s campaign still can’t get their answer straight on where Mitt Romney stands on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gives women greater ability to enforce in court their right to fair pay. From the six seconds of silence six months ago when they were first asked this question, to a top aide’s walk back of a statement last night that Mitt Romney wouldn’t have supported the law when it was passed, the Romney campaign is making what should be an easy answer extremely complicated. But, for millions of women, there is nothing complicated about it. As the President said last night, this is not just a women’s issue, it’s a family issue and an economic issue. Three weeks out from an election, the American people need a clear and final answer on whether Mitt Romney would have signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act into law – and whether or not he would sign the Paycheck Fairness Act that President Obama has been fighting for.”

This was in response to a rapid-fire set of seemingly contradictory statements by the Romney campaign last week which came about as the result of a comment made during the debate by President Obama on the matter:

“I just want to point out that when Governor Romney’s campaign was asked about the Lilly Ledbetter bill, whether he supported it, he said, ‘I’ll get back to you. And that’s not the kind of advocacy that women need in any economy.”

According to the Huffington Post Ed Gillespie, a top advisor to the Romney campaign, told them that Romney would not have signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act into law had he been president back in 2009. He went on to add that as the law has been passed that Romney had no plans to overturn it, but that Romney did not support the act as it made its way through Congress

“The governor would not repeal the Lilly Ledbetter Act,” said Gillespie, following the second presidential debate. “He was opposed to it at the time. He would not repeal it.”

Then according to the Huffington Post,

Hours after this story was published, the Romney campaign sent a statement from Gillespie walking back the comments he had made the night before.

“I was wrong when I said last night Governor Romney opposed the Lily Ledbetter act,” the statement read. “He never weighed in on it. As President, he would not seek to repeal it.”

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Romney’s Confusing Stance on Equal Pay for Women