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LAMEDUCKWATCHLIST
Employment NonDiscrimination Act (ENDA)
ENDA would make it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to
promote an employee based on his or
her actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Education and Labor Committee
scheduled a markup on H.R. 3017 in November, 2009, but the
markup was postponed.
Liberal groups have long been calling for passage of ENDA. The
bill passed the House last Congress,
but was never considered by the Senate. Last week, ENDA was
mentioned in a list of bills that could
be part of the lame duck session. However, the following day,
sources indicated that such reports
are not true and pointed to Speaker Pelosis previous statement
that she would not consider
e Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy is first repealed.moving ENDA
unless th
DOD Authorization Bill
On May 27, 2010, Rep. Patrick Murphy offered an amendmentto
repeal the Dont Ask, Dont Tell
policy to H.R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for
FY2011, and it passed by a vote of
234194, with 5 Republicans voting in favor of the amendment and
26 Democrats voting against it.
The following day, H.R. 5136 was approved by a vote of 229 to
186.
On September 21, 2010, the Senate voted on the Motion to Proceed
on the National Defense
Authorization Act for 2011. However, the Senate version of the
bill contained both the
controversial repeal of the dont ask dont tell policy as well as
new provision, the Burris
Amendment, to allow abortion services on both domestic and
overseas military bases. The bill
would have reversed current DOD policy on both military conduct
and abortion, turning our
military medical facilities into abortion clinics and using
critical military resources for the purpose
of expanding abortion. Despite previous claims of wanting to
limit abortions, the Administration
issued a Statement of Administration Policy supporting the
Burris amendments inclusion in the
DOD Authorization. Nonetheless, the bill failed to receive
enough votes to invoke cloture (60 yea
votes needed to invoke cloture final tally was 5643).
Reports indicate that the Majority plans to complete the DOD
Authorization bill during the lame
duck session, but it remains unclear whether they will push to
retain the controversial changes to
policy.military conduct and abortion
Internet Gambling Legislation
On July 28, 2010 the House Financial Services Committee approved
H.R. 2267, the Internet
Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act.
This bill, along with Rep. Jim
McDermotts companion tax bill, would not only legalize internet
gambling, but would create a
whole new regulatory structure that undermines states laws on
gambling. These bills would
http://www.rules.house.gov/111/SpecialRules/hr5136/79_murphy_hr5136.pdfhttp://www.rules.house.gov/111/SpecialRules/hr5136/79_murphy_hr5136.pdfhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/111/saps3454s_20100921.pdfhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/111/saps3454s_20100921.pdfhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/111/saps3454s_20100921.pdfhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/111/saps3454s_20100921.pdfhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/111/saps3454s_20100921.pdfhttp://www.rules.house.gov/111/SpecialRules/hr5136/79_murphy_hr5136.pdf
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effectively transport addictive gambling into homes all across
the country. State attorneys general
from Maryland, Florida, Colorado, Indiana, and Virginia all sent
letters opposing the bill, and a letter
from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) was
sent in 2007, opposing a nearly
identical piece of legislation.
Some reports have indicated that Sen. Reid may look to attach
internet gambling legislation tothe lame duck session.another
vehicle during
FaithBased Initiatives
On May 28, 2010, Rep. Patrick Kennedy introduced H.R. 5466, the
Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Modernization Act. This
bill would reauthorize SAMHSA,
but contains harmful language to undermine existing charitable
choice provisions. Specifically, the
bill would undermine faithbased organizations ability to take
into consideration religion in their
hiring decisions in order to access federal grants or contracts
under SAMHSA.
There has been no movement to consider H.R. 5466. However, the
Constitution, Civil Rights, and
Civil Liberties Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing entitled
"FaithBased Initiatives:
Recommendations of the President's Advisory Council on
FaithBased and Community Partnerships
er 18, at 10:30 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn.and Other Current Issues"
for Thursday, Novemb
ProLife/ProFamily Appropriations Provisions
There are a number of critical prolife and profamily provisions
that must be maintained in each
fiscal years appropriations bills. The only FY11 appropriations
considered by the House this year
were the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs Appropriations
bill and the Transportation, HUD
appropriations bill.
Reports remain unclear as to whether the Democrat leadership
will try to pass an Omnibusspending bill or a longterm Continuing
Resolution. Either way, it will be important to ensure that
ies are retained.the prolife and profamily polic
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
On August 23, 2010, District Court Judge Royce Lamberth issued a
preliminary injunction halting
federal funding for embryodestructive research during
consideration of the case of Sherley v.
Sebelius. The court found that the NIH Guidelines for Embryonic
Stem Cell Research may violate
the DickeyWicker Amendment, a funding restriction included
annually in the Labor, HHS
Appropriations bills. However, on September 9, 2010, the U.S.
District Court of Appeals granted an
administrative stay, temporarily lifting the preliminary
injunction. Ten days later, Sen. Harkin held
a hearing on embryodestructive stem cell research.
roabortion groups continue to pressure leadership to overturn
the DickeyWicker Amendment.P
