The election of Barack Obama and the increased Democratic majorities in the House and Senate represents a departure from the civil liberties agenda of President George W. Bush and Congress' previous Republican majorities. But what specific legislation is likely to come out of the new leadership?
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The Republican Congress attempted comprehensive immigration reform in 2006, but the House bill was too draconian and the more moderate Senate bill ran afoul of House Republicans. The Democratic majority tried again in 2007, but was unable to agree on suitable legislation. But now, Democratic majorities are substantial enough--and the president cooperative enough--to make real comprehensive immigration reform a possibility.Expect to see a citizenship path for undocumented immigrants (though a fine is likely to be levied), along with a guest worker program to allow corporations to recruit more low-wage workers from Latin America without violating immigration laws.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
The Supreme Court's ruling Ledbetter v. Goodyear (2007) imposed a provision of the Civil Rights Act that forces women filing wage discrimination claims to do so within 180 days of the time that the alleged discrimination took place. The trouble is that most wage discrimination claims deal with long-term wage discrimination, which for obvious reasons runs afoul of the 180-day window.The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would extend this window, but the bill collapsed after Bush threatened a veto. Obama has pledged to support the bill, so it will likely be one of the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Congress.
The Prevention First Act
A broad reproductive rights bill, the Prevention First Act would require health insurance companies to cover contraception, increase Title X family planning services, ensure that rape victims have access to emergency contraception, and fund comprehensive sex education. The ultimate goal of the bill is to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies, and with it the abortion rate. Socially conservative Republicans stalled the bill (which they considered too sex-positive) and pressured Bush to veto it, but it would most likely coast through the new Congress and be easily signed by a President Obama.The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)
For some reason, Democrats attempted to pass a bill firmly stating Roe v. Wade criteria in 2007 despite the fact that the president, an anti-abortion Republican, would obviously not want to sign it. But Obama has pledged to support the bill, so there's a reasonable chance it will cross his desk at some point during his term.Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
The military's policy prohibiting openly lesbian and gay military personnel from serving is a relic of the Clinton administration. The U.S. armed forces lost an estimated 11,624 military personnel to the policy between 1993 and 2006, contributing to a troop shortage. "Don't ask, don't tell" became even less popular during the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, when essential Arabic translators were discharged from the military on the basis of sexual orientation, creating a translator shortage and weakening military intelligence capabilities (and subsequently putting U.S. personnel at risk).Obama has pledged to repeal the antiquated policy and allow lesbians and gay men to serve openly in the U.S. military.
Repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
The Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 bill preventing married same-sex couples from accessing federal benefits, was a symbolic piece of legislation when it was first signed--but now it prevents thousands of actual same-sex married couples in Massachusetts and Connecticut from filing joint tax returns and taking advantage of other federal benefits that heterosexual married couples take for granted. Obama has pledged to repeal it.The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
Firing, refusing to hire, or otherwise discriminating against an employee on the basis of race, sex, disability status, and other specific arbitrary bases runs afoul of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But firing, refusing to hire, or otherwise discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender employees is perfectly legal under federal law, and legal under most state codes as well.The ENDA would address this loophole by adding sexual orientation to the list of protected categories under the Civil Rights Act, allowing LGBT persons to come out of the closet with less danger of losing their careers.
