ACT On Principles

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska: Legislator of the Day

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This past Wednesday, I posted about a possible slow-down of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. I have to admit I was very concerned, though others counseled that ENDA was on track.

Yesterday afternoon, thankfully, the House Committee on Education and Labor announced that it would take the next step in moving ENDA forward. It will “mark up” the bill in a hearing to take place next Wednesday, November 18 at 10 a.m., which will be broadcast live on the Committee’s website. The Committee is then expected to pass the bill back to the full House for a vote. ENDA moves forward.

The next question, however, is when House leaders will move it forward for a vote of the full House? Will it be before the Thanksgiving recess, or in December, or next year? The answer probably depends, strangely enough, on the other Congressional house, the Senate. As Congressman Frank implied in the Blade on Tuesday, if there aren’t enough votes in the Senate yet, then House leaders will delay ENDA, and put another bill forward first. That could put ENDA before the Senate during mid-term election campaigns, which would make it more difficult to pass.

That’s why we must work harder on the Senate than ever. The big advocacy organizations are asking people to call their House members, and that is good thing. Here, however, in our little corner of the blogosphere, I want to keep those Senate fires going.