Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) on Re- Introduction inCongress of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
“It is extremely important for Congress to recognize & address
discrimination that exists in employment against people on the
basis of their sexual orientation & gender identity. It is up to
Congress to assert that such discrimination is illegal & un-American.
I am proud to join Congressman Frank & our colleagues in
introducing this inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act &
look forward to working with them this Congress to advance the
legislation,” Baldwin said.
Wednesday Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) the longest-servingout member of Congress, re- introduced the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the House. However,
the bill is not expected to move forward in the House under
the leadership of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
Congressman Frank said, "It's an organizing tool. Obviously,
with the Republicans in power, you're not going to get the bill
even considered." Frank believes that ENDA will pass before
DOMA is repealed congressionally stating, "I believe that, with
regard to DOMA, the goal is to win it in court. I do not think
there is a good likelihood of getting DOMA repealed through
the Congress. I think there is a good likelihood, in a Democratic
Congress, of getting an inclusive ENDA.” Updates to Come…:)
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I’m going to be urging people to spend their time talking to those who have voted in the past for ENDA and are supportive of ENDA but where we're not certain they're still with us on the transgender issue. We got hate crimes done, and we got 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repealed, and you can't do everything at once. And that, in fact, the problem was ... there was a fall-off – a significant one on the Republican side and some on the Democratic side – because the votes may not be there for an inclusive ENDA. We have work still to do and we have overwhelming -- over 90 percent -- support on the Democratic side for ENDA based on sexual orientation and we had, in the last Congress, about 30 Republicans that way. Unfortunately, there's a drop-off from that number to transgender, and this is a chance to work hard to sway those who are committed to ENDA to support the full transgender inclusion as well. And that's the lobbying job for the whole community. Transgender people, lesbian and gay and bisexual people, our straight friends – the focal point should be to make sure that everyone who's supportive of ENDA supports the transgender inclusion.
ReplyDeleteRep. Barney Frank (D-MA) is Co-Chair The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus