Statement issued by the Office of the House Democratic Leader, Richard A. Gephardt, During Discussion of the Hefley Amendment

The Executive Order Mr. Hefley seeks to nullify is not about providing special status to gay and lesbian Americans in federal hiring and employment. It's simply about providing them with the same protections against discrimination that are already in place for other Americans who have suffered from discrimination.

Complaints about the quality of public servants are unfortunately all too commonplace.  Surely, this amendment will drive away many applicants from public service at a time when our challenges as a nation are too great to justify excluding even one qualified American from helping us solve these problems.

Sexual orientation should not be considered in the hiring, promoting, or terminating of an employee in the federal government.  You would think that this would be something we could all agree on.

But sadly, the supporters of this amendment are making a statement that they tolerate bigotry and they condone arbitrary firings.  This is but the latest of several mean spirited efforts by the Republican leadership against the gay and lesbian community.

But the vast majority of Americans disagree with the Republican leadership. 75 percent believe that gays and lesbians should have the same employment opportunities as all other Americans.  That's all the Executive Order does, despite the protestations of its opponents.

Why, when we have so much important work left to address over the next several weeks, are we considering this issue here today?  At the very least, this is a case of misplaced priorities.  At worst, it's a misguided effort to condone discrimination.

I urge my colleagues to vote against discrimination and bigotry.  Vote against this amendment.
 

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