Speaker Boehner & House Republicans Turn a Deaf Ear on ENDA

President Obama made a significant announcement vowing to take bold steps to prevent discrimination from proliferating our work environments.  Check out what The Washington Post Editorial Board had to say about his efforts:

The Courts have made 2014 a year of rapid progress on gay and lesbian rights. Now President Obama is pitching in.That leaves Congress as the only branch that has yet to act.

Mr. Obama announced Monday that he will sign an executive order barring federal contractors, which employ about 20 percent of the national workforce, from discriminating against gay, lesbian and transgender people in their workplaces…

The federal government has stepped in to ensure the civil rights of other categories of people who have suffered historical discrimination. Gays, lesbians and transgender people deserve the same consideration.

A bill to make nondiscrimination policy clear and consistent, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), passed the Senate last year, but the House has failed to act on it.

…It is Congress's turn to act.

The Senate has also acted in bipartisan fashion by passing ENDA – legislation that carries 206 co-sponsors, including 8 Republicans, in the House.  Rather than remaining silent and turning a deaf ear, Speaker Boehner and the House Republican Conference must allow a vote on this crucial legislation and join House Democrats to eradicate hostile practices in the workplace.