Rubio on men staffers in his office averaging higher salaries than women

(CNN) – President Obama signed two executive actions Tuesday aimed at strengthening existing equal pay laws.

Both actions could make it easier for some workers to find out how much their colleagues are making, and as a result, whether or not they are being compensated fairly. The move would also increase penalties against federal contractors who discipline workers for talking about pay.

Obama is also pushing Congress to pass a bill aimed at preventing the same kind of retaliation across the board.

"The proposals before the Senate now are really geared toward making it easier to sue an employer," Sen. Marco Rubio said in an interview with CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."

"I understand the political benefit of highlighting that and why they're doing it, but it isn't going to solve the core of the problem. And I just think we're wasting time. Meanwhile, an entire generation of young women is caught in low paying jobs with no way to emerge from that into a better paying job," said Rubio.

The administration has taken some heat, after a study found women working at the White House make, on average, less than men.

"The Lead" also looked into Rubio's office, and found women are also, on average, paid less than men.

"What we have is a disproportionate number of women in our office who are working at the legislative assistant level," said Rubio. "But we've also promoted people from that position so there's upward mobility within our office."

"In terms of apples to apples, where you have two people working the same job, we pay people based on their skill and their ability and not their race, their gender, or anything of that matter. And I think that's going to be the way society develops as we move forward," said Rubio.