Bustos' Arbitration Bill Passes Senate Judiciary Committee, Will Receive House Markup on Wednesday

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) highlighted her bipartisan, bicameral legislation to end forced arbitration for sexual harassment and assault survivors in anticipation of tomorrow's mark-up in the House Judiciary Committee. The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault & Sexual Harassment Act recently passed unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Ahead of tomorrow's mark up, here's what Senators from both sides of the aisle had to say about Bustos' legislation:

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) -- Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee: "Forced arbitration clauses require disputes to be resolved in secret proceedings where the deck is often stacked in favor of corporations and repeat players. For Americans who have been sexually assaulted or harassed, forced arbitration clauses not only deny survivors a day in court, they require the misconduct to be concealed from public view, and that allows abusers to commit even more abuse. The bill before us today would give survivors of sexual assault and harassment the choice to go to court, instead of being forced into arbitration by the fine print of a contract signed before the dispute arose." Watch Senator Durbin's remarks here.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) -- Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee: "I'm voting for this bill. All victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment deserve to have their voices heard and to have the option to go to court if they choose to go to court. Mandatory arbitration shouldn't be enforceable in these cases." Watch Senator Grassley's remarks here.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): "The arbitration system has shut a lot of people out and silenced their voices." … "America will be a better place if this bill passes. Those who have been abused will have a forum to make their accusations that are better due process, and most importantly, their voice will not be silenced." Watch Senator Graham's remarks here.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): "We have seen misconduct continue and persist because of the secrecy provisions. It's not just mandatory, forced arbitration, it's mandatory, forced, secret arbitration. This has to stop, I'm glad we're starting here." Watch Senator Whitehouse's remarks here.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN): "It basically takes this issue out from behind boardrooms, out from behind closed doors and makes it very clear that people have a right to speak out and make their claims." Watch Senator Klobuchar's remarks here.

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE): "If this has brought all fifty attorneys general together, if this has brought a moment of bipartisanship here, we should listen to the ways in which forced arbitration is so often the result of terms and conditions that we all agree to without really reading them or understanding them, and can often have embedded provisions like compulsory arbitration that then prevent victims of abuse from having their day in court." Watch Senator Coons' remarks here.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault & Sexual Harassment Act would stop perpetrators from being able to push survivors of sexual harassment and assault into the secretive, biased process of forced arbitration. This important legislation would invalidate forced arbitration clauses that prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment survivors from seeking justice and public accountability under the laws meant to protect them.