Reid to Boehner: ENDA vote is ‘right thing to do’
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that he should allow a vote on a gay-rights bill not because it’s popular with a majority of Americans but because “it’s the right thing to do.”
“Once again Republicans in Congress are out of step with Republicans in the rest of the country,” Reid said on the Senate floor Monday. “But there is a much more important reason to support this legislation — it’s the right thing to do.”
{mosads}Reid made the comments just hours before the Senate will vote on whether to proceed to the consideration of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which bans workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Earlier Monday, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced his opposition to the bill. Some Republicans have argued that the law would burden businesses by increasing discrimination lawsuits.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the bill earlier this year. But even if it passes in the Senate, it stands little chance of being taken up in the House.