Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, we are about to make history in this Chamber by passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, more commonly known as ENDA. We will establish the principle that the right to work free from discrimination is a fundamental right of each and every American regardless of age, race, gender, religion, disability, national origin, and now, finally, sexual orientation.

It has taken a long time to get to this day. More than 10 years ago I was proud to join a life-long champion of civil rights, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, as a cosponsor of ENDA. That was back in 2002. Over the years our country has rightly taken a stand against workplace discrimination in a wide variety of forms. It is past time we close this gap for our LGBT employees. The time to pass this bill has come.

I thank Senators Merkley and Kirk for taking up the cause and for moving this bill forward. Senator Kirk, along with Senators Hatch and Murkowski, led Republican support for this bill during its consideration by the HELP Committee.

I also acknowledge the work of the chairman of the committee Tom Harkin in bringing this bill to the floor.

Other Senators who helped to improve this bill include Senators Portman, Ayotte, Heller, Hatch, and McCain, in their effort to draft strong antiretaliation language. Their amendment, which was adopted unanimously, improves this bill by strengthening the protections for religious institutions that are legitimately exempted under ENDA.

I thank each of those Senators and others, such as Senator Flake, for their willingness to work with the sponsors and cosponsors of this legislation. Senator Toomey also has worked hard.

Mr. President, all Americans deserve a fair opportunity to pursue the American Dream. ENDA is simply about the fundamental right to work and to be judged according to one's abilities, qualifications, and job performance. Much of corporate America has already voluntarily embraced LGBT protections because they know that doing so helps them attract and retain the best and the brightest employees.

Nearly two dozen States have versions of ENDA. In fact, in my home State of Maine, it has been the law for nearly a decade. Simply put, ENDA is about fairness and workplace equality. Today, I am confident the Senate will affirm that principle and will say to everyone in this country the workplace is simply no place for discrimination.

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