[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 PROTECTING AND DEFENDING THE RIGHTS OF LGBT EMPLOYEES IN THE DEFENSE 
                           AUTHORIZATION BILL

  (Mr. ISRAEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, today and this week we will debate the 
national defense authorization. This is part of our most fundamental 
obligation as Members of Congress, to protect and defend the 
Constitution of the United States of America.
  However, there is a provision that is inserted into this bill that 
doesn't protect and defend--it discriminates. It is a provision in this 
bill that would effectively stop an executive order that says that 
Federal contractors cannot discriminate against employees because they 
happen to be LGBT. I want to say this again. In the defense 
authorization, House Republicans have inserted a provision to empower 
and enable the discrimination of LGBT employees. That is not protecting 
and defending. That is discrimination. That is divisive. It is 
disgusting.
  Our job is to protect and defend the American people and not inject 
the defense budget with ideologies that are based on protecting a 
political base, Mr. Speaker. It is a disservice to our troops, and it 
is a disservice to our national security to inject such poisonous 
language into a defense budget that is meant to protect and defend the 
constitutional rights of the American people.




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