‘I Get Volcanic’: Mikulski Explodes Over Paycheck Fairness Act’s Failure in the Senate

"To simply get a vote on the Senate floor we have to vote on a motion to proceed on whether we're going to take it up. And because this is now going to require a 60 vote majority because of the invocation of this fog of filibuster, we can't even get to a majority vote on how to make sure that women get equal pay for equal work. No wonder people are fed up with us. They wonder about us, why when all is said and done, why more gets said than gets done.
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"We heard this morning the talk about the economy. You know one way to help the economy is for people to make more money.
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"Now I tell you what I'm tired of hearing -- that somehow or another we get too emotional when we talk. When we raise an issue we're too emotional. Well, I am emotional. I am so emotional about this, I am telling you if we don't pass this bill, I'm so emotional I'm going to press on. It brings tears to my eyes to know how women every single day are working so hard and are getting paid less. It makes me emotional to hear that. And then when I hear these phony reasons -- some are mean, some are meaningless -- I do get emotional, I get angry, I get outraged, I get volcanic.
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"Now there are those who say this is a lawyer's dream. It's not a lawyer's dream, it's a family's dream. Now if they're afraid of lawsuits they ought to follow the law. The best way not to have a lawsuit is to follow the law."