Deborah Ross Launches Statewide Women Trust Ross Network

Interview

Today, Deborah Ross launched Women Trust Ross, a statewide grassroots network of women, this Friday. Women Trust Ross will mobilize women across the state around how Richard Burr and Washington are not working for North Carolina's women and families.

Deborah is a longtime champion of women's health, safety, and equal pay because she knows that when women have fair and equal opportunities, our economy grows and our country is stronger. Her opponent, incumbent Senator Richard Burr on the other hand, has opposed equal pay for equal work, has voted to defund Planned Parenthood, and even opposed the Violence Against Women Act.

"I have worked hard to earn the trust of men and women across North Carolina. I did it by staying true to my word, standing up for our state's values, and putting the people of our state first," said Deborah. "North Carolinians care about fairness. We want people to get fair pay, be able to make their own health care decisions, and be able retire comfortable. After 20 years in Washington, it's clear Richard Burr has lost sight of those values. It's time for a change -- for someone who voters can count on the stand up for them and put their interest first."

During Deborah's career, she has passed domestic violence reform legislation, successfully raised the minimum wage, championed an equal pay bill to prohibit employers from paying men and women differently for the same work, fought against government interference in women's personal health care decisions, and stood up for women's health rights.

In contrast, Deborah's opponent, incumbent Senator Richard Burr, has voted twice against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and four times against the Paycheck Fairness Act--legislation that would ensure that women will receive the fair pay they deserve for themselves and their families. In addition, Burr voted against the Violence Against Women Act. Also, Burr voted against raising the minimum wage, which would have meant a raise for nearly 578,000 North Carolina women and their families. Nearly two thirds of minimum wage earners in North Carolina were women, meaning Burr's opposition to a minimum wage increase disproportionately hurt women earners.

Members of Women Trust Ross will harness the energy women across the state have demonstrated at the prospect of a U.S. Senator who listens to their needs and has a history of working with them to effect change.

This event will be the first of several events statewide, working to bolster and harness the energy of Ross supporters into a statewide network.

Background:

Deborah Ross' Record:

· Ross supported numerous measures to protect victims of domestic and sexual violence while punishing offenders. Ross supported a number of bills that strengthened laws against sex offenders, including the state's registry. Ross sponsored legislation that prohibited victims from being billed for rape kits & brought the state into compliance with VAWA, which secured millions in future federal spending. She was successful in passing legislation that increased the penalty for violating a protective order while armed with a deadly weapon and making changes to how domestic violence cases were handled in the courts. [North Carolina General Assembly, HB 176, Signed 6/20/12; Charlotte Observer, Editorial, 8/18/11; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 1812, Signed 7/21/10; SL2010-135, 7/21/10; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 1762, Signed 7/20/10; Sampson Independent, 6/29/10; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 115, Signed 7/24/09; Anson Record, 4/29/09; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 545, Signed 8/8/08; SL2008-194,8/8/08; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 44, Signed 7/11/08; CBS-9 WNCT, 7/14/08; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 2189, 6/17/08; CBS-9 WCNT, 6/17/08; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 1810, Signed 7/28/07; Independent Weekly, 5/30/07; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 42, 4/12/07; Herald-Sun, 10/29/07; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 46, Signed 4/12/07; Robesonian, 3/11/07; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 47, Signed 7/8/07; Independent Weekly, 4/30/07; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 569, Signed 9/7/05; Winston-Salem Journal, 8/21/05; North Carolina General Assembly, HB 1354, Signed 8/12/04; News & Observer, 7/24/04]

· Ross supported raising the minimum wage. Ross co-sponsored four bills that would have raised the state's minimum wage, including legislation that passed and raised the minimum wage in 2006. [2005-2006 Legislative Session, Vote on HB 2174, 5/30/06; Project Vote Smart, Vote on HB 2174, 5/30/06; News & Record, 5/21/06]

· Ross stood up for women's equal pay and economic security. In 2013, Ross introduced an equal pay bill to prohibit employers from paying men and women differently for the same work, permit two years of retroactive pay, and prevent retaliation. [News & Observer (Raleigh), 8/26/14; News & Observer (Raleigh), 1/29/14; Wilson Daily Times, 4/13/13]

· Ross fought for women's health. Ross was ahead of the national trend when she helped craft legislation that required insurance plans in North Carolina to cover contraceptives [News & Observer (Raleigh), 1/26/03]. She also opposed abortion measures that threatened women's health [News & Observer (Raleigh), 5/1/97; North Carolina General Assembly, Vote on HB 730, 5/16/13; Project Vote Smart, Vote on HB730, 5/16/13] and voted to restore funding for Planned Parenthood to provide essential health care services. [American Conservative Union, State Ratings 2011, North Carolina, House Vote Descriptions pages 6-8, Ross votes on page 14, accessed 12/20/15].

Richard Burr's Record:

· Burr voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. In 2012, Burr voted against: passage of the bill that would reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act for five years. The measure was passed by a vote of 68-31 [CQ, 4/26/12; S. 1925, Vote 87, 4/26/12].

· Burr voted against raising the minimum wage. In April 2014, Burr voted against a motion to proceed to the bill that would increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2016. The motion failed 54-42. [CQ, 4/30/14; S.2223, Vote 117,4/30/14]

· Burr voted against equal pay measures six times, including the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. [CQ, 1/22/09; S. 181, Vote 14,1/22/09; CQ, 4/23/08; H.R. 2831, Vote 110, 4/23/08; CQ, 4/15/15; S Con Res 11, Vote 152, 4/15/15; CQ, 11/17/10; S. 3772, Vote 249, 11/17/10; CQ, 6/5/12; S. 3220, Vote 115, 6/5/12; CQ, 4/9/14; S. 2199, Vote 103, 4/9/14; CQ, 9/15/14; S. 2199, Vote 262, 9/15/14; [CQ, 3/24/15; S.Amdt. 362 to S.Con.Res. 11, Vote 82, 3/24/15]

· Burr consistently worked against equality in women's health. Burr voted for and co-sponsored The Blunt Amendment, which could allow employers to block access to contraception and preventive care on religious or moral grounds [CQ,3/1/12; S.Amdt. 1520 to S.Amdt. 1730 to S. 1813, Vote 24, 3/1/12; S. 1467, Cosponsored 10/5/11]. Burr voted against a bill to reverse the Hobby Lobby decision and ensure employers could not interfere with employees' birth control and healthcare decisions [CQ, 7/16/14; S. 2578, Vote 228, 7/16/14]. Burr twice voted to defund Planned Parenthood [CQ, 4/14/11; H.Con.Res. 36, Vote 60, 4/14/11; CQ,3/9/11; H.R. 1, Vote 36, 3/9/11]. Burr's healthcare plan would allow insurance companies to go back to charging women more than men and set caps on annual coverage [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Off the Charts blog, 1/28/14].

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