[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 173 (Thursday, November 8, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2374-E2375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 STATEMENT SUPPORTING H.R. 3685, THE EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 7, 2007

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Chairman, throughout my career, I have fought 
for equal opportunity and rights for all of our fellow citizens. Today, 
I rise in support of H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act 
because I believe that discrimination in the workplace on the basis of 
sexual orientation, race and religion has no place in the United 
States. Yet, the fact remains discrimination exists. Throughout our 
Nation, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans face 
discrimination without the protection of Federal law and as a result, 
hard working, skilled employees can be fired simply because of their 
sexual orientation.
  I believe with every fiber of my being that this is wrong, that it is 
un-American. Performance at work should determine employment--not a 
person's sexual orientation which has no bearing on one's ability to do 
the job.
  I applaud my good friends and colleagues, Representative Barney Frank 
and Tammy Baldwin, for their tremendous leadership on this issue. While 
I support the bill before us today, I would like to take a moment to 
extend my sincerest regret that language from the original bill, which 
extended civil rights protections to transgender Americans, was 
excluded from the version we will vote on today.
  When I came to Congress in 1999, I implemented an office employment 
policy that went beyond current Federal law to add sexual orientation 
and gender identity to existing protections. Many employers--private 
and public--have already taken this long overdue step. In my home town 
of Chicago and in the State of Illinois, we gave already have in place 
laws

[[Page E2375]]

that protect gender identity as well as sexual orientation.
  We must work for a Federal law that ensures every American is 
guaranteed the ability to get a job or promotion based on his or her 
ability. It has taken 33 years to pass legislation that bans 
discrimination in the workplace against individuals based on their 
sexual orientation. Today's vote is significant victory. But we must 
not let years pass before we make more improvements to Federal law to 
give transgender individuals the employment protections they deserve.