That was fast. Barack Obama apparently broke his first campaign promise on January 29, just a week into his presidency.
Lilly Ledbetter and the Broken Promise
Politifact is a website that keeps track of Barack Obama’s campaign promises. According to the site, during his campaign, Barack Obama promised the following to the American people.
Allow five days of public comment before signing bills
To reduce bills rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them, Obama “will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.�
The American public had no opportunity to review or comment on the Lilly Lebetter Fair Pay Act. According to Politifact, there was nothing on the White House website regarding the Act prior to its signing on January 29. Also, Obama signed the Act just two days after passage by Congress on January 27. Barack Obama promised to wait five days.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first act signed by Barack Obama. The law applies to discriminatory pay complaints and remedies. Prior to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Supreme Court held that employees cannot challenge compensation discrimination if the employer’s original discriminatory decision occurred more than 180 days before the filing of the discrimination lawsuit. The Lilly Ledbetter Act pre-empts the Supreme Court decision and allows pay discrimination lawsuits to proceed years or even decades after alleged discrimination took place. Under the act, employees could sue at any time after alleged discrimination occurred, so long as they have received any compensation affected by it in the preceding 180 days.
You can learn more about the Lilly Ledbetter Act on the Heritage Foundation website.
Here is the video regarding the broken promise:
Photos: Wenn, Barack Obama, Lilly Ledbetter
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I’m sure the trial lawyers are OK with this bill.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Obama is a lawyer and they stick together.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
So I gather from the article and the comments that we’re supposed to be AGAINST equal pay? That doesn’t make any sense! Come on, now! Let’s pick our battles better than that!
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
No Tom we are not. We are against the government telling us what we can and can’t do. Don’t make it about something that is is not about. When the choosen said he was setting rules for his administration and then breaks them, we have to question it.
This bill by the way allows someone to go back 20 or 30 years.
I suppose you would like the government to set salaries for everyone. I say we set min wage at $100.00 and hour and tax everyone 75%. That would be fair.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:49 pm
The courts will be jammed with these lawsuits.
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Nobody is against equal pay!! If there are lawsuits filed because of this bill the net result of the bill will be to retard advancement of women.
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Did anyone really expected Obama to keep his promises? Only the true Messiah did that… But I know that Obama’s followers are more than ready to sanctify whatever he does. (Like comment #3) And Mr. President is being really swift in pushing his liberal agenda and corrupt appointments while there are still naive people supporting him.
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:51 pm
The bill does NOT say that someone can go back 20 or 30 years; the bill says that the statute of limitations to file a law suit restarts with each new paycheck. This is only a 180-day period. The argument against the bill is, the employee should have known she was being discriminated against, and therefore, the fact she chose to wait gets the company off the hook. This of course is ridiculous to anyone with half a brain, since payroll records are usu. secret from employees. If the employer has to reimburse the employee for 20 or 30 years, so what? They were doing something wrong. And a million here or a million there, so what.
As for Obama breaking a campaign promise, I would think that this would only apply to new bills (the five day review). This is not a new bill; it is a bill that has been around a long time, and the Republicans blocked twice. There’s been plenty of debate on this bill. We don’t need any more debate, just a President with a heart.
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
L:
You are 100% correct did anyone honestly expect this guy to keep his promises. Well 52% of the country did. Oh well I’m going to start selling T-shirts at Amazon. Saying I was right you are wrong showing a big picture of Mccain and showing obama stressed out or something like that. it expresses the truth.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Rivera.
#3 is a perfect example of the pass that will be given to Obama for the next four years.
We can expect to see much more denial like this dressed up in praise when its too hard to just admit that you’ve been hosed.
Dont forget, theres also the 48% that didnt vote for him for fear that he would keep his promises.
Unfortunaley its a double edged sword.
Failure would almost guarantee no prospect of a second term for him and would return conservatives to power.
The other side is the price we will have to pay.
More and more often recently I’m finding myself torn between getting really pi$$ed and wanting to confront these thieves and morons or just kicking back and watching them eat themselves like the last cannibal on a desert isle
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Mickey:
Why did you say that you’ve made me depressed. Now whenever I blog I have to think about it. I can’t speak so freely anymore.
Oh yah Edward:
You suck!
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:01 pm
God bless you man, its about time you thought about something, and continue speaking freely, please, not that anything ever stopped you.
Its the only way anyone can ever come to speak intelligently.
I’ll bet its not depression as much as its a recession.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:18 am
I know that this is a broken promise. But he broke a promise in favor of the American people against big business. Its not like he broke a promise where the people got shafted.
Can we find it in our hearts to forgive such a heinous act?
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 am
Marc, he still did not allow the discussion to take place that could of made a point one way or the other.
Also, its beggining to be a habit which is why this incident approachs a point where you have to ask yourself, where does it stop ?
It also helps to reinforce the claims that hes all about attractive speech that he cant or wont stand behind.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:19 am
Only Liberal Logic (which is an oxymoron because Liberal do not have the logic gene) could say that if Barry breaks a promise it okay as long as the American people don’t get shafted.
Marc that is like saying to your wife, “Honey I promise I will not cheat on you as long as you don’t get hurt by it, but if I can and you don’t get hurt it’s okay and I will not cheat on you.”
Anytime trial lawyers get a chance to sue, they will and it will shaft us. When a company has to defend itself, they pass that along in the form of higher prices.
I know you liberals think that money just gets pulled out of someone butt and that that makes free. Truth is that this bill is not helping employ anyone in this country.
Day 14 and still not hope or change on the horizon.
Still waiting.
February 14th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
[...] to have bills on the website for review and comment by citizens prior to signing. As we reported here, Obama already broke this promise with the Lily Ledbedder [...]