WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced that the Committee will hold a markup of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) next Wednesday, July 10. ENDA would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and is sponsored by Senator Merkley and Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) in the Senate.
“This marks the first time a fully inclusive ENDA will ever be marked up in front of the U.S. Senate and is a historic step forward for equal protection. I thank Chairman Harkin for scheduling a markup of this critical legislation. Americans understand that it’s time to make sure our LGBT friends and family are treated fairly and have the same opportunities as all Americans. Now it’s time for our laws to catch up. People should be judged at work on their ability to do the job, period.”
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