Washington, DC- Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, lead sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), issued the following statement after Senator Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced that HELP would hold a hearing on ENDA on June 12. Yesterday, Senator Merkley, along with Senators Kirk (R-IL), Casey (D-PA), and Collins (R-ME), called on the HELP Committee to hold a hearing on ENDA.
“I’m pleased that the Senate is taking a step closer to ending job discrimination against LGBT Americans. Five years ago this week, Oregon’s Employment Non-Discrimination law was signed by the Governor. All Americans should have these same protections. No one should be fired because of sexual orientation or gender identity. I thank Chairman Harkin for scheduling the hearing and for his many years of leadership on this issue. I look forward to working with him to get this bill done.”
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