A New Hampshire lawmaker is in hot water with political colleagues and the public in general after saying that he didn’t support a “Paycheck Equity Act” because men deserve to be paid more than women.
Republican state Rep. Will Infantine, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, argued that men are apt to working longer shifts and putting in overtime and weekend hours than women — all factors that influence the bottom line of take-home pay.
But he went beyond the statistical evidence to draw some conclusions from the data that elicited heckling from his colleagues.
“Men, by and large, make more because some of the things that they do,” he said Wednesday during a debate on the House floor. “Their jobs are, by and large, riskier. They don’t mind working nights and weekends. They don’t mind working overtime or outdoors.”
Lawmakers cut him off with shouts and jeers, a video from Granite State Progress showed. But he continued by saying, “It’s not me,” but rather the labor bureau statistics.
“Men work five or six hours longer a week than women do,” Mr. Infantine said. “When it comes to women and men who own businesses, … women make half of what men do because of flexibility of work, men are more motivated by money than women are.”
At that point, his congressional colleagues erupted again — and once again, he referred to the federal data.
“My apologies if I have some people upset,” he said.
The House ultimately passed the “Paycheck Equity Act,” 187-134.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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