Health Care

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Hirono). Without objection, it is so ordered.

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I am pleased to be a longtime supporter and original cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, known more commonly as ENDA. This bill will affirm the principle that individuals in the workplace should be judged on their skills and abilities and not on extraneous criteria, such as sexual orientation.

In 2002, more than 10 years ago, I was proud to join Senator Ted Kennedy, whom we all remember as a lifelong champion of civil rights, as the cosponsor of ENDA. I am pleased to support this important bill again today, but I am dismayed that so many years have gone by--more than a decade--and this bill still has not become law. It is time for us to enact this important legislation.

I wish to recognize the efforts of the chief sponsors of this bill, Senators MERKLEY and KIRK, who took up this cause and moved this bill forward. I also acknowledge the work of chairman TOM HARKIN in bringing this bill to the Senate floor. He, too, has been a champion of civil rights throughout his long career, and I hope that when he retires at the end of this Congress, this bill will be one more of his accomplishments.

The time to pass it has come. All Americans deserve a fair opportunity to pursue the American dream. Over the years, we have rightly taken a stand against workplace discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, religion, age, and disability. It is past time that we ensure that all employees are judged solely based on their talents, abilities, hard work, and capabilities by closing an important gap in Federal employment law as it relates to sexual orientation. The right to work is fundamental. How can we in good conscience deny that right to any LGBT American who is qualified and willing to work? Especially in today's economy, job security has taken on an even greater importance to all Americans.

How can we, in good conscience, tell one segment of Americans that they are not entitled to that security because of whom they love?

Equal rights in the workplace is neither a new nor a revolutionary concept. Much of corporate America has already embraced LGBT protections. Why? Because it allows them to attract the best and the brightest employees and to retain talented employees. Nearly 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies already have sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies in place, and many Maine businesses and businesses associated with the State of Maine have such policies. They include IDEXX Laboratories, L.L. Bean, Maine Medical Center, the Warren Center in Bangor, Hannaford Supermarkets, Bath Ironworks, and Unum, a large insurance company. There are many more. I ask unanimous consent that a list of leading Maine employers that support workplace fairness and the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act be included in the record following my remarks.

In addition, ENDA is very similar to current law in nearly two dozen States, including, I am proud to say, the great State of Maine.

But in spite of how far we have advanced the cause of civil rights in this country, it still remains legal in 29 States to fire or to refuse to hire someone simply because he or she is lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Most businesses don't discriminate. They simply want to hire the best worker for the job, regardless of sexual orientation. But in others, high-performing LGBT employees can be and still are legally discriminated against.

When I discuss this issue with many of my constituents, they are shocked to learn it is legal under Federal law--not Maine law but Federal law--for them to refuse to hire or to fire someone solely because of their sexual orientation. They find that shocking. They just assume our civil rights laws, which protect people from discrimination based on race, gender, religion, and age, also protect individuals based on sexual orientation. Of course, because they are operating in the State of Maine, they cannot legally discriminate against an individual based on sexual orientation. I am proud to say the vast majority of Maine's businesses would never think of discriminating based on sexual orientation. They simply want to hire and retain the best person for the job.

Along with former Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, I worked hard to repeal the military's discriminatory policy of ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'' That policy prevented gay and lesbian servicemembers from being open about their sexual orientation. My view was that if they were willing to put on the uniform of our country, be deployed to distant lands, and risk their lives for our freedom, we should be thanking them, not trying to exclude them from serving in the military. Now that ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' has been repealed, I think it is significant that the implementation of repeal of ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' has gone so smoothly. It has gone very well, contrary to the dire predictions of some of the opponents. We hear some of the same kinds of predictions today as we debate this bill. I would say that, just as the repeal of ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' has been implemented quite smoothly, we will see ENDA implemented smoothly as well if we stand, do what is right, and pass this bill.

The bill before the Senate deserves support as a matter of fairness and as a matter of civil rights. It is a commonsense solution consistent with existing Federal civil rights laws, and it will not place an undue burden on American employers. We would not see so many companies voluntarily adopting nondiscrimination policies if it were somehow burdensome to do so. They are doing so because it is in their own best interests, because they want the most qualified employees and to retain the most talented employees, regardless of their sexual orientation. That is not relevant to their ability to do the job.

Finally, it is simply right to pass this bill. We cannot in this day and age countenance legal discrimination against qualified employees and applicants. It is time that we enact this bill.

I urge my colleagues to support ENDA, and I am hopeful we will get more than the 60 votes needed this evening to proceed to this important bill.

Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor.

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