Federal LGBT Civil Rights Bill #EqualityAct Introduced In U.S. House

There are 28 states where it is perfectly legal to fire someone for being a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community today. Most American believe that LGBT citizens should have (and already have) equal civil rights in the United States.

On March 13, the Equality Act, a comprehensive federal LGBT civil rights bill was introduced into the Congress with one House almost certain to pass it due to the fact Democrats have a majority in the House of Representatives.

The Williams Institute at UCLA Law School did an analysis of the state of cvil rights for LGBT Americans and published a report summarizing its findings. Key among these, are:

• An estimated 8.1 million LGBT workers age 16 and older live in the United States. About half of these workers—4.1 million people—live in states without statutory protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment.
• There are over 3.5 million LGBT students age 15 and older in the U.S. About 2.1 million live in states without statutory protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in education.
• There are an estimated 13 million LGBT people age 13 and older in the U.S. Approximately 6.9 million live in states that do not statutorily prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in public accommodations. 
• There are an estimated 11 million LGBT adults in the U.S. Over 5.6 million live in states without statutory protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in housing and 8 million lack such protections in credit.

Hat/tip to Williams Institute

Congress Ends Government Shutdown And Raises Debt Limit

The Congress passed a bipartisan agreement to end the shutdown of the federal government and allow it to borrow money to finance the national debt. The U.S. House passed the measure 285-144 and the U.S. Senate passed it 81-18. The agreement was brokered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and passed the House with the vote of every single Democratic member (198) and was opposed by a majority (144) of the Republican Congressional majority.

The federal government is funded through January 15, 2014 and the debt ceiling is lifted until around February 7, 2014.

132 House Democrats Oppose DOMA in Golinski

A majority of House Democrats have signed on to a pro-marriage equality, anti-DOMA brief in the Golinski v OPM lawsuit which last week the U.S. Department of Justice asked the United States Supreme Court to grant certiorari in even though the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled argument of an appeal in which a federal district court judge ruled DOMA was unconstitutionally being used to prevent a federal employee from putting her legally married spouse on her health plan at work.

The writing and circulation of the amicus brief was coordinated by Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and was endorsed by 132 Democratic members of the U.. House of Representatives. This is significant because the primary group defending DOMA is the 5-member "Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group" (more commonly known as BLAG) of the House, which thanks to the Republican majority in the House is stacked with notorious homophobes and heterosexual supremacists (like House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy). Both of the two Democratic members of BLAG, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer signed on to the brief opposing BLAG's defense of DOMA and reiterating their position that DOMA is unconstitutional. Since BLAG claims to represent the interests of the U.S. House of Representatives in federal legislation that was passed way back in 1996, it is important to note that a significant fraction of the House does not support BLAG's actions.

However, even though 132 Democrats signed on to the brief, nearly half as many did not. 59 Democratic members, generally from "red" or conservative districts refused to sign on to the brief. The list of these Democrats is above.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God.

Celebrity Friday: Nancy Pelosi Slaps The Homocons

Nancy Pelosi gave an incredible interview to The Advocate magazine where she discusses several issues. However, the quote the struck my eye (and Joe Jervis as well) was this:

"Oh, but what about them? He [Barney Frank] chooses a party that supports his values. They've chosen a party that supports their income — a party that denigrates them and treats them with disrespect."

Ouch!

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God.

133 House Members Sign Brief Challenging DOMA

133 Democratc congressmembers signed their names to a brief filed before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Gill v Office of Personnel Management in which the central question is whether the  so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional.

The case was brought (and won) by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders before U.S. District Court judge Joseph Tauro in July 2009. The Department of Justice appealed the decision, but then in February 2011 the United States changed sides in the case after the President determined that DOMA is inherently unconstitutional and laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny.

DOMA is being defended in federal court by superlawyer Paul Clement for BLAG, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, on behalf of the U.S. House Republican majority.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Boehner Triples Budget For DOMA Legal Defense

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)

This is pretty astonishing news. While Republicans are repeatedly bloviating about cutting Medicare and Social Security and reducing the size ofthe federal government, that doesn't apparently apply to defending homophobic laws in court.

Joe.My.God reports that the the "Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group" (which is controlled by the Republican House majority) has authorized a new contract with super-lawyer Paul Clement which triples the potential cost of defending the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in federal court.

Talking Points Memo has the details:

House Republican leaders have tripled theamount allocated for a legal team arguing in support of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) from $500,000 to $1.5 million of taxpayer money.

A modified contract between the General Counsel to the House of Representatives and former Solicitor General Paul Clement of Bancroft PLLC sets a cap of $750,000 which can be raised up to $1.5 million.

"It is absolutely unconscionable that Speaker Boehner is tripling the cost for his legal boondoggle to defend the indefensible Defense of Marriage Act," Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement.

"At a time when Americans are hurting and job creation should be the top priority, it just shows how out of touch House Republicans have become that they would spend up to $1.5 million dollars to defend discrimination in our country," Hammill continued.

It should be noted that the Obama administration has concluded that DOMA is unconstitutional and is no longer defending it in court. DOMA has been declared unconstitutional by at least three federal judges this  year, in cases which are still under appeal.

Bush Superlawyer Paul Clement Signs On To Defend DOMA

Paul Clement was U.S. Solicitor General from 2004-2008

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner has decided on former Bush Administration Solicitor General Paul Clement to represent the Congress' interest in defending the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal court. Clement is a well-known Supreme Court advocate (he succeeded Perry v. Brown Republican superlawyer Ted Olson in the Solicitor General position) and is rumored to make over 5 million dollars a year at  the law firm of King & Spalding and charge as much as $1,000 per hour. Clement has reportedly argued more than 50 cases before the United States Supreme Court.

Clement's defense will not be cheap, as DOMA has been declared unconstitutional in two cases before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Department of Justice has decided that the statute is unconstitutional and there are around 12 jurisdictions in which DOMA is being challenged in court.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  sent a letter to Boehner in response to the current Speaker's actions, reproduced below:

April 18, 2011

The Honorable John A. Boehner
Speaker of the House 
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515 

Dear Mr. Speaker:

Thank you for your response earlier today to my letter of March 11, 2011 concerning litigation relating to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  My letter had requested that you provide me with the cost to the House and to taxpayers resulting from the decision of the Republican members of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) to hire outside counsel to represent the House in support of the DOMA.  You note that President Obama and Attorney General Holder have determined that DOMA is unconstitutional, a conclusion I share, and have declined to engage in further judicial proceedings in defense of the law.  As you may know, presidents have acted similarly in the past on at least 50 instances since 1979.  

Unfortunately, your letter did not respond to the central question in my March 11th letter: the cost to taxpayers of hiring outside legal counsel.  Again, I am requesting that you disclose the cost of hiring outside counsel for the 12 cases where DOMA is being challenged.  

Press reports indicate that the House, at your direction, will intervene today in the Windsor case, which is in a federal court in New York.  Ms. Edie Windsor spent more than 40 years with her partner, Ms. Thea Spyer, and they were married in 2007.  When Ms. Spyer passed away Ms. Windsor was unable to claim the federal estate marital tax benefit because of DOMA and the federal government imposed estate taxes of more than $360,000 on the money left to her.  This case is a prime example of the injustice perpetuated by DOMA on millions of American families.  

According to reports, a contract engaging Paul D. Clement to serve as the outside counsel reportedly was forwarded to the Committee on House Administration, although not to the Democratic members or staff of the Committee.  Mr. Clement, a former Solicitor General of the United States, is a partner in the Washington firm King & Spalding where he is in charge of the national appellate practice.  I would like to know when the contract with Mr. Clement was signed, and why a copy was not provided to Democrats on the Committee.

The House of Representatives need not enter into this lengthy and costly litigation.  Contrary to the assertion in your letter, a BLAG determination against House involvement in the litigation – which was the position of Democratic Whip Hoyer and me – would not have allowed the constitutionality of the law to “have been determined by a unilateral action of the President.”  As you know, only the courts can determine the constitutionality of a statute passed by the Congress.  

Thank you again, and I look forward to working together with you on behalf of our country.

best regards,


NANCY PELOSI
Democratic Leader

Love her!

House Republican Leaders Vote To Defend DOMA

The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer) voted 3-2 to approve Cantor's motion which would authorize the U.S. House to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

More Jobs In 1 Year Under Obama Than 8 With Bush

Following up on the recent jobs data, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi commented that more jobs were created under Obama in 2010 than were created during the entire 8-year Bush administration from 2001-2009.

Think Progress notes:

Indeed, from February 2001, Bush’s first full month in office, through January 2009, his last, the economy added just 1 million jobs. By contrast, in 2010 alone, the economy added at least 1.1 million jobs. This chart, produced by Pelosi’s office, demonstrates the difference between the Bush administration and the Obama administration on jobs.

As the Wall Street Journal noted in the last month of Bush’s term, the former president had the “worst track record for job creation since the government began keeping records.” And job creation under Bush was anemic long before the recession began. Bush’s supply-side economics “fostered the weakest jobs and income growth in more than six decades,” along with “sluggish business investment and weak gross domestic product growth,” the Center for American Progress’ Joshua Picker explained. “On every major measurement” of income and employment, “the country lost ground during Bush’s two terms,” the National Journal’s Ron Brownstein observed, parsing Census data.

Speaker John Boehner: "No, You can't!"

The 112th Congress convenes today, with John Boehner (R-OH) as Speaker of the House,  succeeding Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid leads a caucus of 53 Democrats and Independents.

John Boehner is now 2nd in succession for the U.S. Presidency, after the Vice-President.

DADT Repeal Bill Passes House 250-175

Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweets that the stand-alone DADT repeal bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives 250-175.

Additionally, Senator Joe Lieberman, the author of S. 4023, the stand-alone bill to repeal DADT in the Senate, tweets that Senator Olympia Snowe has agreed to vote for DADT repeal. Currently S. 4023 has 44 co-sponsors, and one other Republican, the other Senator from Maine, Susan Collins.

U.S. House To Vote on DADT Repeal Bill Wed 12/15

Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted today that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a stand-alone House bill (identical to the Senate bill S. 4023 introduced on Friday which now has 40 co-sponsors) as a "privileged bill" to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" on Wednesday December 15th.

DADT Repeal Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate

A standalone bill to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was introduced on Friday December 10th and currently has 27 co-sponsors, including Republican Susan Collins and Independent Joe Lieberman, who sponsored the legislation, called S. 4023.

After a bid to keep DADT repeal in the National Defense Authorization Act failed by a  vote of 57-40 on Thursday (since it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster) this last-minute federal legislation is the only vehicle left by which DADT can be repealed before the end of the 111th Congress.

There are currently 28 explicit supporters of the bill (including Lieberman):

Sen Akaka, Daniel K. [HI] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Bennet, Michael F. [CO] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. [MD] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Coons, Christopher A. [DE] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Franken, Al [MN] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Levin, Carl [MI] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Lincoln, Blanche L. [AR] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Merkley, Jeff [OR] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Murray, Patty [WA] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Reid, Harry [NV] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Udall, Mark [CO] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Udall, Tom [NM] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 12/10/2010 
Sen Wyden, Ron [OR] - 12/10/2010

Both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have agreed to move on the legislation before the end of the year.

Lieberman and Collins claim there are more than 60 votes to repeal DADT (Lisa Murkowki, Scott Brown, and Richard Lugar are all Republicans who have claimed to support the end of DADT). Even Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia who voted in favor of the filibuster has said that he would probably not vote that way again.

Celebrity Friday: Nancy Pelosi

Today, Friday March 26th is the 70th birthday of Speaker of the U.S. House Nancy Pelosi. On Sunday night, she presided over the final passage of the most sweeping social justice legislation in over 40 years, Obama's national health care reform bill. Let's hope she has a good celebration of her 70th birthday!

Pssst, Nancy! We still expect ENDA and DPBO to pass before November. Don't let us down.

House Passes Senate HCR Bill 219-212!

The House of Representatives passed the Senate's health care reform bill by a vote of 219-212. It passed the second bill to amend that bill (before it has become law) by a vote of 220-211.

Deal Is Done! HCR Reform Will Pass

You can thank the election Scott Brown (R-MA) for making Democrats realize that they needed to pass the health care reform using reconciliation.

Breaking news! The New York Times is reporting that the "Stupak gang" of anti-choice Democratic congressmembers who claimed that the legislation changed the status quo of federal support for abortion has agreed to vote for health care reform, based on an executive order that President Obama will issue once the bill passes. The agreement guarantees that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has well more than 216 votes in the House of Representatives to pass the Senate bill as well as a separate bill fixing that bill, which will then be passed by the Senate on a majority vote using reconciliation.

The White House has released a statement on the Stupak deal, as well as the text of the pending executive order:

ENSURING ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (approved March __, 2010), I hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Policy.
Following the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("the Act"), it is necessary to establish an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered), consistent with a longstanding Federal statutory restriction that is commonly known as the Hyde Amendment. The purpose of this Executive Order is to establish a comprehensive, government-wide set of policies and procedures to achieve this goal and to make certain that all relevant actors--Federal officials, state officials (including insurance regulators) and health care providers--are aware of their responsibilities, new and old.

The Act maintains current Hyde Amendment restrictions governing abortion policy and extends those restrictions to the newly-created health insurance exchanges. Under the Act, longstanding Federal laws to protect conscience (such as the Church Amendment, 42 U.S.C. §300a-7, and the Weldon Amendment, Pub. L. No. 111-8, §508(d)(1) (2009)) remain intact and new protections prohibit discrimination against health care facilities and health care providers because of an unwillingness to provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.

Numerous executive agencies have a role in ensuring that these restrictions are enforced, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Section 2. Strict Compliance with Prohibitions on Abortion Funding in Health Insurance Exchanges. The Act specifically prohibits the use of tax credits and cost-sharing reduction payments to pay for abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered) in the health insurance exchanges that will be operational in 2014. The Act also imposes strict payment and accounting requirements to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services in exchange plans (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered) and requires state health insurance commissioners to ensure that exchange plan funds are segregated by insurance companies in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, OMB funds management circulars, and accounting guidance provided by the Government Accountability Office.

I hereby direct the Director of OMB and the Secretary of HHS to develop, within 180 days of the date of this Executive Order, a model set of segregation guidelines for state health insurance commissioners to use when determining whether exchange plans are complying with the Act's segregation requirements, established in Section 1303 of the Act, for enrollees receiving Federal financial assistance. The guidelines shall also offer technical information that states should follow to conduct independent regular audits of insurance companies that participate in the health insurance exchanges. In developing these model guidelines, the Director of OMB and the Secretary of HHS shall consult with executive agencies and offices that have relevant expertise in accounting principles, including, but not limited to, the Department of the Treasury, and with the Government Accountability Office. Upon completion of those model guidelines, the Secretary of HHS should promptly initiate a rulemaking to issue regulations, which will have the force of law, to interpret the Act's segregation requirements, and shall provide guidance to state health insurance commissioners on how to comply with the model guidelines.

Section 3. Community Health Center Program.

The Act establishes a new Community Health Center (CHC) Fund within HHS, which provides additional Federal funds for the community health center program. Existing law prohibits these centers from using federal funds to provide abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered), as a result of both the Hyde Amendment and longstanding regulations containing the Hyde language. Under the Act, the Hyde language shall apply to the authorization and appropriations of funds for Community Health Centers under section 10503 and all other relevant provisions. I hereby direct the Secretary of HHS to ensure that program administrators and recipients of Federal funds are aware of and comply with the limitations on abortion services imposed on CHCs by existing law. Such actions should include, but are not limited to, updating Grant Policy Statements that accompany CHC grants and issuing new interpretive rules.

Section 4. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) authority granted by law or presidential directive to an agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This Executive Order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This Executive Order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE

As Daily Kos points out, what this executive order does is basically reiterate the Senate bill's language and does not change current or future federal law. What the egomaniacal Bart Stupak has done is basically force the President of the United States to "confirm that women's health isn't equal to everyone else's, that a legal, medical procedure to which we STILL have a right is further stigmatized, further politicized."

Congratulations to President Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Speaker Pelosi Support DC Marriage Equality

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi released the following statement in support of marriage equality reaching the District of Columbia:

“Today marks a historic chapter in the advancement toward equality, fairness and the protections that marriage affords for all families. As we welcome marriage equality to our nation’s capital, I reiterate my longstanding commitment to home rule for the District of Columbia.

“Today, the District joins other states in leading the nation in ensuring fundamental civil rights. This is a joyous moment that history will forever remember as progress.”

Great news which augurs well for marriage equality to remain the law of the land for the foreseeable future.

DKos Poll: Obama Approval at 67-29%

Daily Kos is going to be commissioning 150 polls in 2009 just as it did in 2008 (which was more than any other media organization in the country!) Part of those polls will be weekly horse race polls with a margin of error of 2 percentage points on the current popularity of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner (the Senate and House Democratic and Republican leaders) as well as the Democratic and Republican brands parties. Below are the details of the first:

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 1/5-9. All Adults. MoE 2% (No trendlines)

              Approve Disapprove Don't Know
Obama         67      29                 4

Pelosi        39      37                24
Reid          33      41                26
McConnell     29      46                25
Boehner       21      47                32

Congress Dems 36      53                11
Congress GOP  24      64                12

Democrats     53      39                 8
Republicans   32      60                 8

Kos also mentioned in a post today that Dkos had revenues of over $1 million dollars in 2008 and now has 8 employees.