Great news, folks!
We might be a minority in Congress, but that doesn't mean we can't get our way! Senator Daniel Inouye, Democrat from Hawaii, may be intervening on our behalf. From HuffPo:
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."
If this article is accurate it represents fantastic news for the movement – bipartisan support for rape!
Update on Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 9:41PM byRapeFan
You can call Senator Inouye at (202) 224-3934 or you may reach him at his website.
What's really sad is the Franken Amendment doesn't go far enough. This kind of clause in a contract needs to be banned outright. The fact that ANY corporation is allowed to include a clause like this speaks volumes of the corrupt nature both corporations and the humans that run them behave with.
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