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Republicans pull measure from House floor that would roll back LGBT rights
Republicans pull measure from House floor that would roll back LGBT rights
By Lisa Rein May 24
@Reinlwapo
Republican leaders avoided another explosion over gay rights on the House floor Monday when they stripped language from a VA bill that would have rolled back expanded rights for LGBT employees who work for federal contractors.
The broader bill would provide greater access for veterans to private medical care outside the VA system, particularly in rural areas. Long sought by the Department of Veterans affairs, the legislation was set for a vote on the House floor Monday night.
But early Monday, Republican House leaders pulled a provision that had quietly passed the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, after Democrats and the gay rights groups protested.
{House turns into battleground over LGBT rights}
The little-noticed language would have allowed private doctors and other medical providers to sign contracts with VA even if they offered no protections from discrimination to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. The language would have overridden an executive order President Obama signed in 2014 that prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
By Lisa Rein May 24
@Reinlwapo
Republican leaders avoided another explosion over gay rights on the House floor Monday when they stripped language from a VA bill that would have rolled back expanded rights for LGBT employees who work for federal contractors.
The broader bill would provide greater access for veterans to private medical care outside the VA system, particularly in rural areas. Long sought by the Department of Veterans affairs, the legislation was set for a vote on the House floor Monday night.
But early Monday, Republican House leaders pulled a provision that had quietly passed the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, after Democrats and the gay rights groups protested.
{House turns into battleground over LGBT rights}
The little-noticed language would have allowed private doctors and other medical providers to sign contracts with VA even if they offered no protections from discrimination to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. The language would have overridden an executive order President Obama signed in 2014 that prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
