November 08, 2007

House Narrowly Passes Workplace Nondiscrimination Bill

The House Wednesday passed legislation, on a vote of 235-184, that would prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on their sexual orientation. Twenty-five Democrats voted against the measure, and 35 Republicans supported it.

The bill passed over the protests of a coalition of gay and lesbian advocates, who wanted a broader bill that would have prohibited discrimination based on "gender identity," covering transgendered workers.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., offered an amendment to add the gender identity language into the bill, but she withdrew it before the House could take a roll-call vote on it. Baldwin said she believed that moving forward with a vote on her amendment would show "strong support" for including gender identity language in the bill, but that the effort would ultimately fall short. "I believe that those who would be left behind by this bill deserve to hear on this House floor that you are not forgotten," she said. "I will do everything in my power to make this measure whole again."

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said such comments show that the bill is only the beginning of Democratic efforts to promote a gay agenda.

Earlier in the day, House Republicans called for adjournment in protest of what they considered an unusual provision in the rules for floor debate allowing Baldwin to withdraw her amendment before voting on it. "What appears to be happening here is the majority does not want to have the embarrassment on their side of dividing on the issue," Souder said. "They want to shield their members from having a vote."

Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., was unapologetic about giving Baldwin the ability to withdraw the amendment. Under House rules, members can only withdraw amendments with the unanimous consent of all the members. "We knew she'd never get that," Slaughter said.

Slaughter said a floor vote on Baldwin's amendment risked killing the entire effort. "We have to move legislation," she said. "That's my job."

Meanwhile, Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have pledged to co-sponsor a version of the bill in the Senate that could come to a vote early next year. But even if it passes that chamber, the measure faces a veto threat from President Bush. Legislation to prevent workforce discrimination based on sexual orientation has been in the works since the mid-1970s, the New York Times reports.

-Fawn Johnson, CongressDaily. The Gate staff contributed to this report.

Posted at 7:54 AM
Share via