GOP lawmaker suggests female colleague ‘misunderstands’ equal pay legislation

Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.) suggested Wednesday that a Democratic female colleague did not understand language surrounding equal pay legislation.

Byrne was trying to propose an amendment to the Paycheck Fairness Act, which aims to eliminate gender-pay discrimination and was co-sponsored by Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.).

Byrne said he doesn’t think Wild “understands what that language actually means and how it’s been interpreted by the courts and how it may be totally misinterpreted against plaintiffs in these types of lawsuits,” according to HuffPost.{mosads}

“I do think that she misunderstands both the amendment and the underlying bill,” Byrne said later.

Rep. Bradley Byrne suggested that Rep. Susan Wild did not understand a bill she co-sponsored that aims to close the gender pay gap. pic.twitter.com/KastobfbzB

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) March 28, 2019

Wild said in a statement to HuffPost that it seemed like Byrne was trying to undermine the proposal.

“As a practicing attorney for over 30 years, I can tell you this was not the first time someone has attempted to avoid an argument over the merits of the law using condescension and dismissal,” she told the news outlet. 

The Hill has reached out to Byrne’s office for comment. 

The House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act Wednesday.