[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 155 (Monday, November 4, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7785-S7790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HEALTH CARE
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I just returned from spending a weekend
in my home State of Wyoming, traveling around the State and visiting
with people in Natrona County and Casper as well as in Rock Springs,
WY. I attended a marvelous event held every year in Sweetwater County
called Cowboys Against Cancer. There were 700 people there to celebrate
successes and remember those whom we have lost in these battles. I was
there along with Senator Enzi as well as our Governor and others
talking about an issue facing the Nation--an issue, of course, that is
on everyone's mind--the health care law. This has been a very rough 5
weeks for hard-working Americans who are concerned about their health,
and this obviously came up for significant discussion at the Cowboys
Against Cancer event Saturday night in Wyoming.
Many people were hoping the Democrats' health care law would actually
help decrease costs; that it would actually help increase access to
quality health care. But all America knows that hasn't happened. On
October 1, the Obama administration launched its health care exchange.
This was to be the biggest moment of the President's signature
achievement in office. It was one where people were looking forward to
the opening of the exchanges, and it flopped. It completely flopped.
The Web site crashed and fell right on the heads of the people who were
already anxious about their health care. People all across the country
saw this collapse, and even the late-night comedians have made a lot of
jokes about the incompetence and the mismanagement of the Obama
administration.
But I have to say the failure of the exchange is no laughing matter,
because this is much more than a failed Web site. Real people are
facing real health care problems and are being hurt because of this
administration's failed health care law. Because of this law, millions
of people are getting letters saying their insurance has been canceled.
I talked to some of them this past weekend in Wyoming. There are at
least 3\1/2\ million people impacted by this across the country, and
the number continues to climb every day. The Obama administration says
that is no big deal. They say only 3\1/2\ million people are losing the
insurance plans they have now. But this administration's goal--their
goal--was just 7 million people covered in the exchanges. So why does
the White House think 3\1/2\ million Americans losing their coverage is
no big deal when their goal this year was to cover 7 million Americans?
President Obama and Democrats in Congress promised over and over: If
[[Page S7786]]
you like your insurance, you can keep it. But that wasn't true. The
Washington Post Fact Checker looked into the President's claim. These
are the folks who decide if something is truthful or not truthful. They
gave the President the full four Pinocchios for completely false
claims.
The Fact Checker wrote:
The President's promise apparently came with a very large
caveat: ``If you like your health care plan, you'll be able
to keep your health care plan--if we deem it to be
adequate.''
Well, the President never said that. If the White House had been
honest about people losing their health insurance, this law would never
have passed. But the law did pass and people across the country are
learning how much it is going to actually hurt them personally.
For millions of people who are losing the insurance they have, they
are finding the options available under the Democrats' health care law
much more limited and much more expensive. The rates are higher, the
deductibles are higher, their copays are higher. It is not the kind of
reform people wanted or needed, but that is what the Washington
Democrats gave them.
The cost increases and the canceled insurance policies are just the
beginning. A lot of people are now starting to realize they are no
longer going to have access to their family's doctor. It wasn't
supposed to happen this way. President Obama said this in 2009:
We will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you
will be able to keep your doctor. Period.
That is what President Obama said. If the White House had been honest
about how many families were going to lose access to their doctors,
this health care law would never have passed. But the White House did
make that promise, Democrats did pass that law, and American families
all across the country are suffering as a result.
Coming back from Wyoming this morning I picked up USA Today. The
editorial page of this newspaper supported the President's health care
law, but their view today is:
Coverage cancellations belie Obama's promise. Obamacare is
starting to resemble a patient bleeding from self-inflicted
wounds. A month after launch, the online health exchanges
where individuals are supposed to shop for insurance remain
slow or unusable, except in states that opted to run their
own marketplaces and did a more competent job than the
administration.
States were more competent than the administration.
Continuing to quote the article:
As if that weren't trouble enough, critics are justifiably
mocking President Obama for his repeated, untrue promise that
if people liked their health plans, they could keep them.
The editorial on the opinion page of today's USA Today says:
Oops. Hundreds of thousands of people are getting
termination notices from plans that don't meet the strict new
requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Presumably, not all
those people disliked their plans.
Referring to the President, they go on to say:
Now he can't seem to admit he overpromised and
oversimplified. He and his aides compound their credibility
problem by suggesting that people whose plans are being
canceled ``just shop around in the new marketplace''--a
laughable impossibility while HealthCare.gov is plagued by
bugs.
So that is what I read in this morning's USA Today as I was coming
back from Wyoming. Then I picked up the Wall Street Journal and turned
to another column, and this is a guest column: ``You Also Can't Keep
Your Doctor.''
You also can't keep your doctor. And there is a little subheadline
that reads: ``I had great cancer doctors and health insurance. My plan
was cancelled. Now I worry how long I'll live.''
I am sorry the Senate Chamber isn't full of all those people who
voted for this health care law as this woman worries how long she will
live. The Wall Street Journal says it is an absolutely devastating
piece by one woman who is suffering because of the health care law. Her
name is Edie Littlefield Sundby. She wrote about her experience
fighting stage 4 gallbladder cancer. She had a health care plan with
affordable access to good doctors who she points out saved her life.
As a doctor, I will tell you stage 4 gallbladder cancer has a very
small chance of success and survival. She has beaten the odds because
of those taking care of her. But now she has been told that the plan
she has is being canceled because of the President's health care law.
Here is what she wrote:
What happened to the President's promise, you can keep your
health plan? Or the promise that, you can keep your doctor?
Thanks to the law, I have been forced to give up a world-
class health plan. The exchange would force me to give up a
world-class physician.
She has had some of the best physicians in the world--MD Anderson in
Texas and California at Stanford, as well as in her home community of
San Diego.
Washington Democrats knew their law would harm people such as Edie
Littlefield Sundby who writes today in the Wall Street Journal. They
knew that people like her all across the country would lose their
insurance and lose their doctors. They just didn't want the American
people to know it.
It was in the regulations that they wrote and they supported. The
issue has to do with a section of the health care law that says that
anyone who had an insurance policy on March 23, 2010, and continued to
renew it, could keep it even after the ObamaCare exchange is launched.
It is called a grandfather clause, and it is to protect people from the
law's new rules and mandates--to let people, if they had something they
liked, keep what they had.
But less than 3 months after the President signed his health care
law, the administration issued a regulation setting very specific
criteria these health plans had to meet in order to be grandfathered.
The regulation dismantled the section of the law by placing
unreasonably tight restrictions on grandfathered policies. Now, any
routine change made to a grandfathered insurance plan immediately
breaks the Democrats' promise that Americans can keep their health
insurance.
A lot of consumers want the freedom and flexibility to increase their
plan deductible, or copayments, rather than face a higher monthly
premium. It is natural that people want to do it--with their health
insurance, car insurance, or homeowners insurance. Looking and making
decisions for you and your family is just part of being responsible.
The Obama administration's regulations took away that choice.
Republicans saw this train wreck coming, and we tried to stop it. My
colleague Senator Enzi from Wyoming in 2010 brought S.J. Res. 39 to
this floor. This was a Resolution of Disapproval, which would have
immediately overturned the administration's burdensome grandfather
regulations.
What Senator Enzi brought to the floor for a vote of the entire body
would have, if passed, allowed everyone to keep the insurance they had
if they liked it--basically, to uphold the President's promise.
Republicans supported this resolution. Senate Democrats voted against
it in lockstep. Absolutely every one of them said no. They kept the
regulation on the books and made sure people would not be able to keep
the insurance policy they had if they liked it.
Now Democrats don't want to hear about people like Edie with stage 4
gallbladder cancer. Republicans do want to hear about people like her--
people who are losing their coverage because of this health care law.
We want people to tell us their stories by tweeting with the hashtag
``YourStory.'' We want to make sure that nobody in the Obama
administration forgets that these are real people and they have been
hurt by this health care law which the President has continued to, on
party lines, force down the throats of the American people in its
passage, and then continue to deliberately deceive the American people
with his quotes, not very long ago, and repeated so many times: If you
like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.
Republicans support real health care reform. We support ideas such as
allowing people to buy insurance across State lines. That would
increase access to coverage and to care, not decrease it. That would
increase competition and bring down prices--not raise them. But the
Democrats' health care law is doing just that. That would be a reform
that would help the American people. But the Obama health care law took
the exact opposite approach.
Here is how Edie Littlefield Sundby put it in her story. She wrote:
Before the Affordable Care Act, health-insurance policies
could not be sold across state lines; now policies sold on
the Affordable Care Act exchanges may not be offered across
county lines.
[[Page S7787]]
That should change. President Obama and Washington Democrats wanted a
political win. They were willing to do anything and say anything--to
say whatever they needed--to get that win, whether it was true or not.
If they had been honest with the American people, they would have never
gotten this law passed. But the Democrats' health care law today in
America is hurting people, hurting families, hurting Americans. This
must end.
The President should come to the table. He should work with
Republicans to pass real reform, to help the American people who have
been hurt and continue to be hurt by his health care law.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a
quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the
quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon to
talk about a bipartisan effort to advance uniquely American values:
freedom, fairness, and opportunity. The Employment Non-Discrimination
Act, or ENDA, has at its foundation these core values. It is about
freedom, the freedom to realize our founding belief that all Americans
are created equal under the law. It is about fairness, about whether
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans deserve to be treated
just as their family members, their friends, their neighbors, and
fellow workers. It is about opportunity, about whether every American
gets to dream the same dreams, chase the same ambitions, and have the
same shot at success.
One year ago this week the people of Wisconsin elected me to the
Senate. The citizens of Wisconsin made history, electing our State's
first woman to the U.S. Senate, and electing the first out gay or
lesbian person to the U.S. Senate in the history of our great Nation.
But I didn't run to make history, I ran to make a difference, a
difference that would give everyone a fair shot at achieving their
dreams.
I couldn't be more proud of the bipartisan effort to make a
difference with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. I thank and
recognize my colleagues Senators Mark Kirk, Jeff Merkley, Susan
Collins, and Tom Harkin for their leadership working across party lines
and moving this legislation forward. I take great pride at being a part
of this effort. I think it shows great promise of what can be achieved
if we work together in a bipartisan way to get work done for the
American people.
I also want to take the time to recognize the 55 cosponsors of this
bill, both Democrats and Republicans, who made a commitment to ending
discrimination against our fellow citizens simply because of who they
are and who they love. I realize that for some this is not an easy
vote. I understand for some they may believe it is not good politics.
But I want to say that I have a deep respect for those who choose to
stand on the side of progress for our country this week. For those who
stand this week and answer the call for courage, I can say with
confidence your courage will be respected and remembered when the
history of this struggle is written.
In June I had the opportunity to speak at the Department of Justice
during its Pride Month observations. It was fitting that we gathered in
a building that bears the name of Robert F. Kennedy. He became Attorney
General at a time of rapid progress in the area of civil rights,
progress that thrilled many Americans and frightened others. Kennedy
knew, however, that America should be on the side of progress. He
traveled to Georgia, at the time unfriendly territory for a civil
rights reformer, to make his first formal speech at the University of
Georgia law school. He did not shy away from the Kennedy
administration's commitment to equal opportunity, ``For on this
generation of Americans,'' he explained, ``falls the full burden of
proving to the world that we really mean it when we say that all men
are created free and equal before the law.''
He backed his words with actions, not only by vigorously enforcing
the laws and court orders that advanced the cause of civil rights but
by holding the Kennedy administration itself accountable, demanding
that the Justice Department and other government entities prioritize
diversity in the workplace. Of course, as much progress as that
generation made in fulfilling the promises America makes about fairness
and equality, there was plenty to do for the generations that have
followed.
Today we continue that work, guided by the belief that everyone
deserves a fair shot at the American dream and that our LGBT family
members, friends, and neighbors deserve to be treated as everyone else
in the United States. Every American deserves the freedom to work free
of discrimination. Passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
strengthens this freedom by recognizing the right to be judged based on
your skills, talents, loyalty, character, integrity, and work ethic.
My home State of Wisconsin was the first State in the Nation to add
sexual orientation to its antidiscrimination laws. At the time, back in
1982, only 41 municipalities and 8 counties in the United States
offered limited protections against discrimination based on sexual
orientation. Wisconsin's efforts to pass the Nation's first sexual
orientation antidiscrimination statute were supported by a broad and
bipartisan coalition, including members of the clergy, various
religious denominations, medical and professional groups. The measure
was signed into law by our Republican Governor, Lee Sherman Dreyfus,
who based his decision to support the measure on the success of
municipal ordinances providing similar protections against
discrimination.
Since Wisconsin passed its statute in 1982, 20 States and the
District of Columbia, representing nearly 45 percent of our Nation's
population, have passed similar antidiscrimination measures. Sixteen
States and the District of Columbia also protect their citizens on the
basis of gender identity. However, 76 million American workers have to
contend with the ugly reality that in over two dozen States it is legal
to discriminate against LGBT employees. That is simply wrong and this
legislation seeks to right that wrong.
The business community understands this. That is why a majority of
Fortune 500 companies have sexual orientation and gender identity
nondiscrimination policies in place, and more than 100 companies have
endorsed this bill. It is time to level the playing field and extend
these protections to all Americans. But we don't just want to live in a
country where our rights are respected under the law; we want to live
in a country where we are respected for who we are, where we enjoy
freedom and opportunity because that is who we are as Americans.
More than 5 years after he spoke at the University of Georgia law
school, half a world away at Cape Town University, in South Africa,
Robert F. Kennedy said, ``Few will have the greatness to bend history,
but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events and
then the total--all of these acts--will be written in the history of
this generation.''
The change we work for today can add up to incredible progress in our
lifetime. This generation can be the one in which we fulfill the
promises of freedom and equality for all, in which America finally
becomes a place where everyone's rights are respected at work and every
family's love and commitment can be recognized and respected and
rewarded under the law.
I am hopeful that we can now move this Employment Non-Discrimination
Act forward, to build a tomorrow that is more equal, not less, for all
Americans.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk the call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Hirono). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I am pleased to be a longtime supporter
and original cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, known
more commonly as ENDA. This bill
[[Page S7788]]
will affirm the principle that individuals in the workplace should be
judged on their skills and abilities and not on extraneous criteria,
such as sexual orientation.
In 2002, more than 10 years ago, I was proud to join Senator Ted
Kennedy, whom we all remember as a lifelong champion of civil rights,
as the cosponsor of ENDA. I am pleased to support this important bill
again today, but I am dismayed that so many years have gone by--more
than a decade--and this bill still has not become law. It is time for
us to enact this important legislation.
I wish to recognize the efforts of the chief sponsors of this bill,
Senators Merkley and Kirk, who took up this cause and moved this bill
forward. I also acknowledge the work of chairman Tom Harkin in bringing
this bill to the Senate floor. He, too, has been a champion of civil
rights throughout his long career, and I hope that when he retires at
the end of this Congress, this bill will be one more of his
accomplishments.
The time to pass it has come. All Americans deserve a fair
opportunity to pursue the American dream. Over the years, we have
rightly taken a stand against workplace discrimination based on race,
sex, national origin, religion, age, and disability. It is past time
that we ensure that all employees are judged solely based on their
talents, abilities, hard work, and capabilities by closing an important
gap in Federal employment law as it relates to sexual orientation. The
right to work is fundamental. How can we in good conscience deny that
right to any LGBT American who is qualified and willing to work?
Especially in today's economy, job security has taken on an even
greater importance to all Americans. How can we, in good conscience,
tell one segment of Americans that they are not entitled to that
security because of whom they love?
Equal rights in the workplace is neither a new nor a revolutionary
concept. Much of corporate America has already embraced LGBT
protections. Why? Because it allows them to attract the best and the
brightest employees and to retain talented employees. Nearly 90 percent
of Fortune 500 companies already have sexual orientation
nondiscrimination policies in place, and many Maine businesses and
businesses associated with the State of Maine have such policies. They
include IDEXX Laboratories, L.L. Bean, Maine Medical Center, the Warren
Center in Bangor, Hannaford Supermarkets, Bath Ironworks, and Unum, a
large insurance company. There are many more. I ask unanimous consent
that a list of leading Maine employers that support workplace fairness
and the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act be included in
the record following my remarks.
In addition, ENDA is very similar to current law in nearly two dozen
States, including, I am proud to say, the great State of Maine.
But in spite of how far we have advanced the cause of civil rights in
this country, it still remains legal in 29 States to fire or to refuse
to hire someone simply because he or she is lesbian, gay, or bisexual.
Most businesses don't discriminate. They simply want to hire the best
worker for the job, regardless of sexual orientation. But in others,
high-performing LGBT employees can be and still are legally
discriminated against.
When I discuss this issue with many of my constituents, they are
shocked to learn it is legal under Federal law--not Maine law but
Federal law--for them to refuse to hire or to fire someone solely
because of their sexual orientation. They find that shocking. They just
assume our civil rights laws, which protect people from discrimination
based on race, gender, religion, and age, also protect individuals
based on sexual orientation. Of course, because they are operating in
the State of Maine, they cannot legally discriminate against an
individual based on sexual orientation. I am proud to say the vast
majority of Maine's businesses would never think of discriminating
based on sexual orientation. They simply want to hire and retain the
best person for the job.
Along with former Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, I worked hard
to repeal the military's discriminatory policy of ``Don't Ask, Don't
Tell.'' That policy prevented gay and lesbian servicemembers from being
open about their sexual orientation. My view was that if they were
willing to put on the uniform of our country, be deployed to distant
lands, and risk their lives for our freedom, we should be thanking
them, not trying to exclude them from serving in the military. Now that
``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' has been repealed, I think it is significant
that the implementation of repeal of ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' has gone
so smoothly. It has gone very well, contrary to the dire predictions of
some of the opponents. We hear some of the same kinds of predictions
today as we debate this bill. I would say that, just as the repeal of
``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' has been implemented quite smoothly, we will
see ENDA implemented smoothly as well if we stand, do what is right,
and pass this bill.
The bill before the Senate deserves support as a matter of fairness
and as a matter of civil rights. It is a commonsense solution
consistent with existing Federal civil rights laws, and it will not
place an undue burden on American employers. We would not see so many
companies voluntarily adopting nondiscrimination policies if it were
somehow burdensome to do so. They are doing so because it is in their
own best interests, because they want the most qualified employees and
to retain the most talented employees, regardless of their sexual
orientation. That is not relevant to their ability to do the job.
Finally, it is simply right to pass this bill. We cannot in this day
and age countenance legal discrimination against qualified employees
and applicants. It is time that we enact this bill.
I urge my colleagues to support ENDA, and I am hopeful we will get
more than the 60 votes needed this evening to proceed to this important
bill.
Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Human Rights Campaign--Maine-
Headquartered Companies and Organizations with Gender Identity and
Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Policies
Brewer Medical Center, Capehart Community Health Center,
Eastern Maine AIDS Network, Extended Care Services, Helen
Hunt Health Center, Hope House, IDEXX Laboratories Inc., L.L.
Bean Inc., Maine Medical Center, MaineGeneral Medical Center,
Penobscot Community Health Care, Summer Street Health Center,
Warren Center.
Other Companies and Organizations with Gender Identity and Sexual
Orientation Non-Discrimination Policies
Adecco North America, LLC, American Eagle Outfitters,
American Institute of Architects, Bank of America Corp., Best
Buy, Charles Schwab & Co., Choice Hotels International,
Corning, CVS, Darden Restaurants, Dollar Tree, Gap, General
Dynamics (Bath Ironworks), General Electric, Hannaford
Supermarket, Home Depot, ING Financial, InterContinental
Hotels Group Americas, J C Penney, KeyCorp, Levi Strauss &
Co., Lowe's.
Marriott, Marsh & McLennan Companies, McKesson
Technologies, Merck & Co., Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams,
Morgan Stanley, New Balance, Nike, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut,
RBC Wealth Management, Rite-Aid, Ryder Systems, Subway,
SUPERVALU, Target, TD Bank, Texas Instruments, Time Warner,
UnumProvident, UPS, Walmart.
Colleges and Universities with Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Non-Discrimination Policies
Bangor Theological Seminary, Bates College Maine Media
College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, University of Maine
System (7 campuses).
State and Local Governments with Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Non-Discrimination Policies
State of Maine.
____
Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness
The majority of United States businesses have already
started addressing workplace fairness for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender employees. But we need a federal
standard that treats all employees the same way.
The Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness is a group of
leading U.S. employers that support the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act, a federal bill that would provide the
same basic protections that are already afforded to workers
across the country.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees are not
protected under federal law from being fired, refused work or
otherwise discriminated against. ENDA would do just that.
Leading employers that support workplace fairness and the passage of
the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Accenture Ltd., New York, NY; Alcoa Inc., New York, NY;
American Eagle Outfitters
[[Page S7789]]
Inc., Pittsburgh, PA; American Institute of Architects,
Washington, DC; Ameriprise Financial Inc., Minneapolis, MN;
Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA; AMR Corp. (American Airlines),
Fort Worth, TX; Bank of America Corp., Charlotte, NC; The
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BNY Mellon), New York, NY;
Barclays, New York, NY; BASF Corp., Florham Park, NJ; Bausch
& Lomb Inc., Rochester, NY; Best Buy Co. Inc., Richfield, MN;
Bingham McCutchen LLP, Boston, MA; Biogen Idec Inc., Weston,
MA; BMC Software Inc., Houston, TX; BNP Paribas, New York,
NY; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ridgefield,
CT; BP America Inc., Warrenville, IL; Bristol-Myers Squibb
Co., New York, NY; Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., Lake
Success, NY; CA Technologies Inc., Islandia, NY; Caesars
Entertainment Corp., Las Vegas, NV; Capital One Financial
Corp., McLean, VA; Cardinal Health Inc., Dublin, OH;
CareFusion Corp., San Diego, CA.
CC Media Holdings Inc. (Clear Channel), San Antonio, TX;
Charles Schwab & Co., San Francisco, CA; Chevron Corp., San
Ramon, CA; Choice Hotels International Inc., Silver Spring,
MD; Chubb Corp., Warren, NJ; Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose,
CA; Citigroup, New York, NY; Clorox Co., Oakland, CA; The
Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, GA; Corning Inc., Corning, NY; Darden
Restaurants Inc., Orlando, FL; Dell Inc., Round Rock, TX;
Deloitte LLP, New York, NY; The Depository Trust & Clearing
Corp., New York, NY; Deutsche Bank, New York, NY; Diageo
North America, Norwalk, CT; Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI;
Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY; Electronic Arts Inc.,
Redwood City, CA; Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis, IN; EMC
Corp., Hopkinton, MA; Ernst & Young LLP, New York, NY;
Expedia Inc., Bellevue, WA; Gap Inc., San Francisco, CA;
General Electric Co., Fairfield, CT; General Mills Inc.,
Minneapolis, MN; General Motors Corp., Detroit, MI;
GlaxoSmithKline, Philadelphia, PA; Goldman Sachs Group Inc.,
New York, NY; Google Inc., Mountain View, CA.
Groupon Inc., Chicago, IL; Hanover Direct Inc., Weehawken,
NJ; Herman Miller Inc., Zeeland, MI; Hewlett-Packard Co.,
Palo Alto, CA; Hillshire Brands Co., Downers Grove, IL;
Hilton Worldwide, McLean, VA; Hospira Inc., Lake Forest, IL;
HSBC--North America, Prospect Heights, IL; Hyatt Hotels
Corp., Chicago, IL; Integrity Staffing Solutions Inc.,
Wilmington, DE; InterContinental Hotels Group Americas,
Atlanta, GA; International Business Machines Corp., Armonk,
NY; Jenner & Block LLP, Chicago, IL; JPMorgan Chase & Co.,
New York, NY; Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA; KeyCorp,
Cleveland, OH; Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, San
Francisco, CA; KPMG LLP, New York, NY; Levi Strauss & Co.,
San Francisco, CA; Marriott International Inc., Bethesda, MD;
Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., New York, NY; Merck & Co.
Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ; Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA;
MillerCoors Brewing Co., Chicago, IL.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Taylorsville, NC; Moody's
Corp., New York, NY; Morgan Stanley, New York, NY; Motorola
Inc., Schaumburg, IL; Nationwide, Columbus, OH; The Nielsen
Co., Schaumburg, IL; Nike Inc., Beaverton, OR; Oracle Corp.,
Redwood City, CA; Orbitz Worldwide Inc., Chicago, IL; Pfizer
Inc., New York, NY; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, New York, NY;
Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, OH; QUALCOMM Inc., San
Diego, CA; RBC Wealth Management, Minneapolis, MN;
Replacements Ltd., McLeansville, NC; Robins, Kaplan, Miller &
Ciresi LLP, Minneapolis, MN; Self-Help Credit Union, Durham,
NC; SUPERVALU Inc., Eden Prairie, MN; Teachers Insurance and
Annuity Association--College Retirement Equities Fund, New
York, NY; Tech Data Corp., Clearwater, FL; Texas Instruments
Inc., Dallas, TX; Thomson Reuters, New York, NY; Time Warner
Inc., New York, NY; Travelers Companies Inc., New York, NY;
UBS AG, Stamford, CT; US Airways Group Inc., Tempe, AZ;
WellPoint Inc., Indianapolis, IN; Wells Fargo & Co., San
Francisco, CA; Whirlpool Corp., Benton Harbor, MI; Xerox
Corp., Stamford, CT; Yahoo! Inc., Sunnyvale, CA.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I thank my colleague from Maine for her
statement. This is not a partisan issue. Senator Mark Kirk, my
Republican colleague from Illinois, is a cosponsor of this issue as
well.
When it comes to discrimination, neither party has a monopoly on
opposing discrimination. We should be working together. So I thank the
Senator from Maine for speaking as she has so often for the kinds of
liberties and values which we all should share in this country.
If we ask most Americans this very basic question: Is it legal to
discriminate against someone because they are gay--to say I won't hire
you, I won't promote you, I won't give you a raise--80 percent of
Americans say, of course not. That can't be legal in America. The
reality is that in more than half of the States it is legal, and in
more than two-thirds of the States it is legal to discriminate based on
gender identity. That which we take for granted as part of the ordinary
course of life and business in America turns out not to be true. This
ENDA bill, which is going to be considered on a procedural vote in
about an hour, is an effort to establish a national standard of
tolerance, a national standard against discrimination.
I come from a background--and I think most people do--that believes
each person deserves a chance to prove themselves and that we shouldn't
hold it against them if they happen to be a man or a woman, a person
who is of one religious faith or another, or because of a person's
national origin, race, or religion. We shouldn't discriminate against
people based on that. It really strikes me as fundamental to what we
are as Americans to say that everyone deserves a chance to be judged on
the merits, on the basis of their performance. This Employment Non-
Discrimination Act, on which we will consider a procedural vote in
about an hour, is an effort to enshrine that into law at the Federal
level.
Some of the critics say: Why are you doing this? The House of
Representatives will never take this up; they will never consider it.
Well, I think it is our responsibility to speak out in favor of doing
the right thing. I am hoping that, as we saw with the statement from
the Senator from Maine, Republicans will step up and realize that this
shouldn't be a partisan issue, and that the Republican-controlled House
of Representatives, where the Republicans have the majority, will
actually stand and speak against this form of discrimination.
As many as 48 percent of lesbian, gay, or bisexual Americans and 59
percent of transgender Americans have no legal protection against
discrimination in the workplace. In 29 States, lesbian, gay, and
bisexual Americans have no legal protection. In three States,
transgender Americans have no protection. Between 15 percent and 43
percent of LGBT people have experienced discrimination or harassment in
the workplace as a result of their sexual orientation. Twenty-six
percent of transgender people report having been fired from a job
because of gender identity, and 90 percent reported experiencing
harassment, mistreatment, or discrimination.
Those are terrible statistics, but there is a ray of hope. We found
it on the issue of marriage equality, and we found it when it comes to
discrimination based on sexual orientation, and here is what is most
hopeful: Younger people don't feel this way. The newer generation
across America looks at the older folks, scratches their heads, and
says: What are you doing? Why would you possibly discriminate against
someone because of their sexual orientation?
There are some who will decry this as the deterioration of American
values. Not me. I think it is an indication that each generation has an
opportunity to expand opportunity, an opportunity to expand freedom,
and to put to rest discrimination. How many times has it happened
throughout our history? We waged a Civil War over the issue of race and
slavery, and in our Constitution women were treated as second class
citizens and not allowed to vote until the 20th century. We have seen
similar discrimination against groups throughout our history. We know
it happened in the early days when it came to discrimination against
those who were disabled and faced other disabilities. All of that is
changing for the better. We are moving toward a society that really
judges people based on what they do with their lives, how they conduct
themselves.
When we extend Federal employment discrimination protections
currently provided based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age,
and disability to sexual orientation and gender identity, we will be
moving forward on this Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which is
known as ENDA. In this measure, we prohibit public and private
employers with more than 15 employees, employment agencies, and labor
unions from using an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity
as the basis for employment discrimination such as hiring, firing,
promotion or compensation. We apply to Congress and the Federal
Government as well as employees of State and local governments the same
basic protection.
This bill reflects what the business community is largely already
doing. A majority of Fortune 500 companies have sexual orientation and
gender identity nondiscrimination policies in
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place. More than 100 companies have already endorsed this bill.
Recent polling has shown the majority of small businesses have sexual
orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination policies in place.
One might say: If so many businesses are already moving in this
direction, why do we need it? Well, the vast majority of American
businesses didn't discriminate based on race, but to protect people
looking for jobs, and others, we wanted to make sure everyone was
protected in the Civil Rights Act.
The business community from Wall Street to Main Street understands
that hiring the best and brightest, without considering irrelevant
characteristics such as sexual orientation and gender identity, is the
best way to compete in our global economy.
ENDA would extend the protections already offered by the majority of
businesses to level the playing field and ensure that all Americans
have equal protection against employment discrimination.
We do not get many chances in this job to make a mark in history.
This will be our chance in the Senate. In just an hour we will have
this procedural vote. We need 60. We have 55 Democrats, but we need 5
Republicans to step up and join us. I believe we will have them, and I
hope many more.
Let's make this a solid bipartisan effort, a solid stand against
discrimination. That ought to be one issue that brings both parties
together. With a solid vote coming out of the Senate, I hope our
friends on the opposite side of the Rotunda will follow our lead and
they will consider and pass this important and historic legislation.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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