Press Conference Regarding Protection for Federal Workers from Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation - Transcript

HEADLINE: PRESS CONFERENCE RE: PROTECTION FOR FEDERAL WORKERS FROM DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION

PARTICIPANTS: REPRESENTATIVE BARNEY FRANK (D-MA); REPRESENTATIVE GEORGE MILLER (D-CA); REPRESENTATIVE ELIOT ENGEL (D-NY); AND SENATOR BARBARA BOXER (D-CA)

LOCATION: HOUSE RADIO/TV GALLERY, THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.

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REP. FRANK: Thank you all for coming. We are here-and I should say this press conference is organized by the Democratic leadership of the House; it is bicameral, with Senator Boxer joining us. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who was very concerned when she heard about this, and asked George Miller to organize this. George will be joining us. So we really are here on behalf of the Democratic leadership to object very strenuously to a significant retreat from the principle of protecting people against sexual-orientation discrimination.

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REP. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-WI): You have my formal remarks available to you, but I join my colleagues in calling for the president to repudiate this policy very clearly. Obviously I believe that all federal employees should be free from discrimination and that all federal employees should expect the sole basis for judging their job performance should be directly related to their performance of their job responsibilities. It seems so obvious. For an administration that wanted to unite and not divide, and an administration that wanted to demonstrate compassion as well as conservatism, I find these actions deeply troubling.

And I just want to say obviously there are very real legal consequences to the way that Mr. Bloch is interpreting this long- standing federal law. But I also just want to let you know that I recall the day that the news hit in my home district that Mr. Bloch had ordered the removal of references to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation from the OSC website -- (brief audio break) -- and my discussions while at home with people in my district who happened to be federal employees, and how deeply disturbing this was and frightening this was to them. And so it has many impacts beyond the legal ones that I think we need to keep in mind. And it's deeply troubling, and we all join and stand here today to call on President Bush to repudiate this interpretation of long-standing federal policy.

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REP. BALDWIN: I just want to answer that question of the intangibles, the chilling effect that this creates. And I can't give numbers, but I would suggest that it has a chilling effect in terms of the message it sends to the private sector about what is the right policy to have in workplaces. And it certainly creates a chilling effect in terms of people stepping forward to protest an adverse job action. If you know or believe you don't have the coverage of the law, you are much more likely to remain silent for fear that knowledge of the discriminatory action will lead to others. And so you can never put a number or price tag on that. But I'm as concerned about the chilling effect of this action as I am about the tangible effect it will have or may have.

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