[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 106 (Thursday, July 18, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            INTRODUCTION OF THE ECONOMIC EQUITY ACT OF 1996

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 1996

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to be an original 
sponsor of the Economic Equity Act of 1996 [EEA]. Three of my bills are 
included within this omnibus bill.
  The first bill, included in title I of the EEA is the Federal 
Employees Fairness Act (H.R. 2133), will revise and improve the process 
for Federal employees to file employment discrimination complaints. 
Employees would have 180 days in which to file a discrimination 
complaint, and the Equal Opportunity Commission--rather than the 
accused agency--would be required to investigate the complaint within 
strict time limits. The bill also encourages sanctions to be levied 
against employees found guilty of discriminatory behavior.
  The Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act [ESBOA] is included within 
title II of the EEA, which addresses issues of economic opportunity. 
This title will help qualified women and minority-owned businesses to 
compete in the contracting business by helping them obtain adequate 
surety bonding.
  It will create an environment in which small business firms, 
particularly those owned and controlled by minorities and women, can 
successfully obtain adequate surety bonding. This legislation will 
enable us to ferret out continuing biases in the industry. Whatever 
these prejudices may be, getting rid of them will open up the industry, 
creating entrepreneurial and employment opportunities and making the 
industry more competitive. I urge my colleagues to support this bill 
and help abolish the artificial impediments to the development and 
survival of emerging small businesses.
  The last bill that I introduced this June and which is included in 
the EEA is the Work and Family Parental Equity Leave Act will ensure 
that employees who choose to care for a foster child or adopt a child 
will benefit from the same leave policy as their coworkers who are 
birth parents. This bill does not mandate that employers provide leave 
benefits beyond existing law, but rather that if they choose to provide 
such benefits they do so for all parents equitably.

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