Chairman Miller on President's Veto Threat on ENDA

Chairman Miller Statement on President's Threat to Veto the Employment Non-Discrimination Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following response today to a White House statement of administration policy on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation to prohibit employers from discriminating against their employees on the basis of sexual orientation. The statement of administration policy says that the President's senior advisers would recommend that he veto the legislation.

"It is shameful that the President's senior advisers would recommend that he veto landmark legislation to end workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Fully qualified, capable Americans should never be denied a job or fired from a job for non-work related reasons.

"Basing employment decisions on prejudice and not on merit is un-American and should have no place in our society. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is an historic civil rights bill and if the President opposes it he will be on the wrong side of history."

BACKGROUND:

· The religious exemption in the ENDA legislation scheduled for floor consideration this week was negotiated with several of the nation's leading religious organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations. Under this language, religious organizations that are exempt from religious discrimination prohibitions in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would also be exempt from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

· Administration claims about the precision of the legislative language are unfounded. Quite simply, the legislation would prohibit employers from discriminating against workers whom they know or think to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. It would also prohibit discrimination against workers on the basis of their association with individuals of specific sexual orientations. The Americans with Disabilities Act includes such language on association and perception when it comes to disabilities, and these provisions have not resulted in any explosion of litigation.

· Administration claims that ENDA undermines the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) are also unfounded. Nothing in the bill amends DOMA, which defines marriage for federal law purposes as between a man and woman. That law continues to stand.

· The Bush administration insinuates that activist federal judges will strike down ENDA as unconstitutional because it applies to state and local government employers. However, Congress has the constitutional authority to enact ENDA pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. Congress has drafted a very limited version of ENDA that will be upheld by the courts. For example, it prohibits the imposition of affirmative action based on sexual orientation.

For more information on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, click here.