Congressman Barney Frank: Add the T back to ENDA

News release from Barney Frank
Congressman, 4th District, Massachusetts
2252 Rayburn Building * Washington, D.C. 20515 * (202) 225-5931
October 19, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Joe Racalto 202-225-5931
Steven Adamske 202-225-7141

FRANK URGES COLLEAGUES TO SUPPORT REP. BALDWIN'S GENDER IDENTITY AMENDMENT TO ENDA

Congressman Barney Frank is urging his colleagues to vote for the
amendment to be offered by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin to include
transgender individuals in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act when it
is considered on the House floor.

"The decision to offer such an amendment came out of a Caucus which
Chairman George Miller held of the Democratic Members of the Education and
Labor Committee. After some discussion, it became clear that offering
such an amendment would offer us the best chance to achieve Speaker
Pelosi's goal of adopting in the House the most inclusive ENDA bill for
which majority support existed.

"I argued in favor of transgender inclusion when I testified on the
original legislation on September 5, but many of us believed that sending
the full inclusive bill to the floor would open the door to a series of
demagogic procedural moves that would have endangered our chances of a
passing any bill at all. The discussion held by the Democratic Members of
the Education and Labor Committee, Congresswoman Baldwin and myself
resulted in this approach and I believe it meets the goal of giving people
the opportunity to support a fully inclusive bill while avoiding the
potential parliamentary death traps that would otherwise have resulted.
I will on the floor of the House be repeating essentially the arguments in
favor of transgender inclusion which I made in the September 5 hearing,
because we will now be able to do that in a procedural setting that allows
us to maximize support for an inclusive bill without endangering our
chances of getting any bill at all."

[A Lisa Keen article for Bay Windows posted on Wednesday gives some background as well as provides some nuance to today's press release from Congressman Frank's Office]