30 Republicans Vote Against Allowing Women Employees to Sue a Defense Contractor for Rape
Senator Al Franken offered an amendment to the Defense Appropriation Bill that would prohibit all contractors doing business with the government from requiring employees to sign an arbitration agreement that would prevent them from suing in cases of rape.
The amendment is intended to right the wrong of a recent gang-rape committed by KBR employees against a woman employee of the company. Her employment contract prohibited her from suing in the matter and required her to go to arbitration.
A court eventually determined that the rape was not associated with her employment and so it went to court and she won the case. The purpose of the amendment makes it clear that an arbitration agreement must not include rape, that a woman has a right to sue the company in such cases.
It seems like a pretty slam dunk proposal. Who would vote against it? (See the Visual of the Day for Jon Stewart’s take on the vote.)
Would you believe 30 Republicans?
Franken’s amendment ended up passing, 68-30. Utah’s Senators Hatch and Bennett did not vote against it, but the list included Mormon Mike Crapo from Idaho and adulterer Ensign from Nevada, and prostitute customer David Vitter from Louisiana, and right-wing evangelicals James Inhofe, Tom Coburn, and both senators from Arizona, John Kyl and John McCain.
The defense contractors are all over this and are demanding that it be taken out of the final legislation, and guess who is going to win, the defense contractors or women employees?
Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye is the sponsor of the legislation and apparently can eliminate it through some procedure before final passage. He is taking a great deal of heat from the defense contractors who have paid him handsomely over the years for these kinds of favors.
The Republicans are aghast at the audacity of Franken for introducing such legislation that proved embarrassing for them. They claim Franken is not being a ‘gentleman’ about it, that these kinds of amendments are off limits by some ‘understood gentleman’s agreement among senators.”
Here’s a list of the Senators who voted against it:
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
ADDENDUM: It’s been pointed out to me that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbied against the Franken amendment as well:
Republicans point out that the amendment was opposed by a host of business interests, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and applies to a wide range of companies, including IBM and Boeing.
I guess we must cover up crimes like rape in order to save capitalism.
