Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., flanked by …

AP FILE PHOTO, AUG. 1, 2013 | published: April 10, 2014

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., flanked by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Illinois, left, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington. Senate Republicans derailed a Democratic bill Wednesday curbing paycheck discrimination against women, an effort that even in defeat Democrats hoped would pay political dividends in this fall’s congressional elections. Mikulski is the bill’s sponsor.