[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8013]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         WE NEED A COMPREHENSIVE EMPLOYEE NONDISCRIMINATION ACT

  (Mr. POCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POCAN. This June, as we celebrate LGBT Pride Month, LGBT 
Americans have much to celebrate. Every day this country moves closer 
and closer towards embracing full equality for all of its citizens. And 
yet the path to equality and justice saw a setback last week when one 
of our Nation's largest companies chose to deny fundamental workplace 
protections for its employees.
  For the 14th year in a row, ExxonMobil's shareholders voted to strike 
down a proposal that would specifically prohibit discrimination based 
on sexual orientation or gender identity. This is a company that has 
received more than $1 billion in government contracts over the last 
decade. Simply put, the government should not be in business with 
companies that discriminate.
  Exxon's decision makes it part of a shrinking minority: 88 percent of 
Fortune 500 companies specifically ban employee discrimination based on 
sexual orientation. BP doesn't discriminate, Chevron doesn't 
discriminate, Shell Oil doesn't discriminate. But ExxonMobil does. 
Their anti-equality policies should start to hurt their bottom line.
  Unfortunately, it is still legal to fire someone in 29 States based 
on their sexual orientation or gender identity. ExxonMobil's backwards 
decision highlights why we need to pass a comprehensive employee 
nondiscrimination act.

                          ____________________