Hawaii Senator Inouye to water down Franken Amendment
Franken’s Anti-Rape Amendment May Be Stripped By Senior Dem, Sources Say
The Huffington Post – Sam Stein
October 22, 2009
An amendment that would prevent the government from working with contractors who denied victims of assault the right to bring their case to court is in danger of being watered down or stripped entirely from a larger defense appropriations bill.
Multiple sources have told the Huffington Post that Sen. Dan Inouye, a longtime Democrat from Hawaii, is considering removing or altering the provision, which was offered by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and passed by the Senate several weeks ago.
Inouye’s office, sources say, has been lobbied by defense contractors adamant that the language of the Franken amendment would leave them overly exposed to lawsuits and at constant risk of having contracts dry up. The Senate is considering taking out a provision known as the Title VII claim, which (if removed) would allow victims of assault or rape to bring suit against the individual perpetrator but not the contractor who employed him or her.
“The defense contractors have been storming his office,” said a source with knowledge of the situation. “Inouye either will get the amendment taken out altogether, or water it down significantly. If they water it down, they will take out the Title VII claims. This means that in discrimination cases, they will still force you into a secret forced arbitration on KBR’s (or other contractors’) own terms — with your chances of prevailing practically zero. The House seems to be very supportive of the original Franken amendment and all in line, but their hands are tied since it originated in the Senate. And since Inouye runs the show on this bill, he can easily take it out to get Republicans and the defense contractors off his back, which looks increasingly likely.”
A Democratic aide on the Hill, also with knowledge of the situation, confirmed the account, as did a source who works on defense contracting matters outside of Congress. “The contractors are putting on a full-court press on this amendment… they are all doing it,” said the latter source.
A spokesman for the Senate Committee on Appropriations said that “the committee does not comment on ongoing conference negotiations.” But another source with knowledge of the situation stressed that it was premature to say that any decision has been made. Indeed, even the Hill source said that the situation is fluid and could change before the bill is sent out of committee — likely in the next few days.
The decision on what to do with Franken’s amendment is being made in conference committee with the House of Representatives, which severely limits the number of lawmakers who can weigh in on the matter.
The second-longest-serving member of the United States Senate, Inouye is a veteran of WWII. The chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, he has received $294,900 in donations from the defense and aerospace industries over the course of his career, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Franken’s amendment passed the Senate on October 21, 2009 by a voting margin of 68 to 30. The 30 Republicans who opposed the provision were widely pilloried in the press. But they were actually joined in some of their concerns by the Obama administration’s Department of Defense, which worried that “enforcement would be problematic, especially in cases where privity of contract does not exist between parties within the supply chain that supports a contract.”
The White House, for its part, told HuffPost it supports the intent of the amendment and it is “working with the conferees to make sure that it is enforceable,” said spokesman Tommy Vietor. (click HERE for the original article)
I strongly urge everyone to contact not only your Senators office but the office of Senator Inouye’s in DC and Hawaii. If you can’t get through on the phone, send a fax. Let it be known he is not only speaking for Hawaiians here. He is speaking for EVERYONE!! I would hate to see him joined the list of 30 republican’s who initially voted NO on the Franken Amendment.
Senator Inouye’s contact information
Washington D.C.
722 Hart Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1102
Phone: 202-224-3934
Fax: 202-224-6747
Honolulu
300 Ala Moana Boulevard
Room 7-212
Honolulu, Hawaii 96850-4975
Phone: 808-541-2542
Fax: 808-541-2549
Hilo
101 Aupuni Street, #205
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Phone: 808-935-0844
Fax: 808-961-5163
Thursday, October 22nd 2009 at 12:01 pm |
I called the D.C. # provided and actually spoke with a very nice lady. She informed me that the Senator voted for the Franken Amendment and I spoke of the possibility that the Bill might be watered-down from pressure by the Contracting Companies. She said that she would pass this info along.
Does any current or former contractor believe that these companies are for the individuals they hire?
We don’t have an organized lobbying group going to pitch our perspective, because we don’t control the $$$$$. We have to wait until these companies dump on us and then hope and pray that we can find an attorney willing to help us. If this ends-up in favor of binding arbitration – the individual contractor might as well go to work for these organized crime syndicates and understand that you them “AT YOUR OWN PERIL”.
Thursday, October 22nd 2009 at 12:03 pm |
THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR MIGHT AS WELL GO TO WORK FOR THESE – ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATES “AT YOUR OWN PERIL”.
Friday, October 23rd 2009 at 7:12 am |
for-what-it’s-worth said,on October 22nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm I called the D.C. # provided and actually spoke with a very nice lady. She informed me that the Senator voted for the Franken Amendment and I spoke of the possibility that the Bill might be watered-down from pressure by the Contracting Companies. She said that she would pass this info along.
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I called Senator Inouye’s office and received a similar response. Hopefully others are doing the same, with 2010 being midterm elections, it is a good time to call elected officials to task.