[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S11163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    EMPLOYMENT NONDISCRIMINATION ACT

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I am not a member of the Senate 
Labor and Human Resources Committee, so I wanted to take a moment to 
address an issue that was a subject of a hearing in that Committee this 
morning.
  The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Jeffords, and my good friend 
and colleague, the senior Senator from Massachusetts, have co-sponsored 
an important and much-needed piece of legislation, the Employment 
Nondiscrimination Act of 1997. I am an original co-sponsor of that 
bill.
  Mr. President, when I was first sworn in as a United States Senator 
in 1985, I authored the gay and lesbian civil rights bill. At that 
time, only five other Senators would join me as co-sponsors of that 
legislation. In the 103rd Congress, I testified before the Armed 
Services Committee to lift the ban on gay men and lesbians serving in 
the military.
  I agree with those who testified today before the Labor Committee, 
including Raymond Smith, the chief executive officer of Bell Atlantic, 
and Herbert Valentine of the Presbyterian Church that ENDA is a 
solution to a serious problem in our society. I have heard from many 
Americans who have suffered discrimination in the workplace because of 
their sexual orientation. It is time for these Americans to have 
recourse against blatant discrimination, just as Americans who are 
fired on the basis of their religion, national origin or gender. 
Massachusetts has recognized the problems of anti-gay and lesbian 
discrimination in the workplace and already has an ENDA-like law.
  Mr. President, last year, I joined 65 of our colleagues in signing a 
pledge that I would not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation 
in hiring, promotion and firing. I personally will not tolerate 
discrimination in my office. Like the majority of our colleagues, 
signing this pledge came easy to me. I have always had openly gay and 
lesbian staff and they have served the people of Massachusetts with 
effective and committed distinction.
  So, now, Mr. President, I urge our colleagues to live up to the 
pledge they signed and support this important legislation. It is my 
hope that the Committee will report the bill out as soon as possible 
and I call upon the Majority Leader to find time to bring this 
important legislation to the floor for debate. It was voted on last 
year and wound up in a de facto tie. This year, I am confident it will 
pass.
  Mr. President, for years, groups like the Human Rights Campaign, the 
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Parents, Families and Friends of 
Lesbians and Gays, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, as 
well as members of the religious communities across this country, have 
educated us on the need for this bill. They have worked tirelessly with 
us to improve this legislation, and I applaud their tenacity and 
appreciate their friendship. They are dogged advocates for justice and 
fairness.
  Voices as eloquent as those of Coretta Scott King and Senator Barry 
Goldwater have spoken up in support of ENDA. The President of the 
United States has signaled his approval of the bill. Let us debate it 
and pass it soon, Mr. President. Let us send a strong message that all 
Americans matter, and that no one should suffer discrimination in the 
work place. Let us move forward in the fight for civil rights.

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