IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 12, 2012CONTACT: Brad Luna, Luna Media Groupbrad@lunamediagroup.com, 202-812-8140 (cell)
BREAKING NEWS: Freedom to Work
Sends Letter to Majority Leader Reid DemandingVote this Summer on Employment Non-Disc Act (ENDA)
Daring Anti-LGBT Senators to Filibuster Bi-Partisan Bill Supported by Super- Majorities of American Public
WASHINGTON, DC
–
This morning, Freedom to Work
–
a national organization working toban workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans
–
sent an open letter penned by the group's president, Tico Almeida, to Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid (D-Nevada) demanding he bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)directly to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a vote this summer.
Read the entire text of
Almeida’s letter to Senator Reid,
Almeida's letter, which states, "LGBT Americans need to know whether our elected officialsstand with us," comes on the same day that Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) convened a Senate
Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing, “Equality at
Work: The EmploymentNon-
Discrimination Act,”
in favor of the legislation. More information on the hearing isavailable on the Washington Blade website, here.
Almeida followed up on Reid's 2009 promise to pass ENDA by urging the Senator to schedule avote this summer on the bi-partisan legislation introduced by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon)and Mark Kirk (D-Illinois). Almeida states in the letter that ENDA could easily pass out of thecommittee today by a strong bi-partisan margin through a successful mark-up, even as anti-LGBT Senators threaten to filibuster against the bill."We respectfully urge you to bring ENDA to a vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate this summer,"stated Almeida, "so that LGBT Americans do not have to wait any longer to know which of theirSenators support their freedom to work without harassment or discrimination on the job, andwhich Senators still find it acceptable for Americans to be unjustly fired simply because of whom they love or their gender identity. After decades of delay on this critically importantlegislation, LGBT Americans need to know whether our elected officials stand with us. Wedeserve a vote."Almeida continued, "We also note that the Obama Administration has stated its position in favorof passing ENDA through the Senate even if passage through the House of Representatives
remains unlikely at this time. … We agree with the Obam
a Administration on this point, and webelieve the time is now right to build momentum for ENDA."The Obama Administration expressed the value of passing ENDA in the Senate in an exchangebetween former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and reporter Chris Johnson of theWashington Blade last year, which can be viewed here.
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Breaking News: Freedom to Work Sends Letter to Majority Leader Reid Demanding Vote this Summer on Employment Non-Disc Act
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