Someone needs to make this a banner issue against the GOP during the next campaign cycle.
The U.S. Senate voted on an amendment which was proposed to the recent Defense Appropriations Act which would prohibit awarding of funds to any contractor which requires employees to sign mandatory arbitration clauses for specific claims.
This amendment was offered specifically in response to an arbitration requirement of KBR-Halliburton employees which prohibited bringing claims of sexual assault. That requirement prevented a woman who was sexually assaulted by KBR-Halliburton employees while stationed in Iraq from bringing suit against the company.
To prohibit the use of funds for any Federal contract with Halliburton Company, KBR, Inc., any of their subsidiaries or affiliates, or any other contracting party if such contractor or a subcontractor at any tier under such contract requires that employees or independent contractors sign mandatory arbitration clauses regarding certain claims.
And the roll call vote? 30 Republicans voted against it.
And let’s make it clear—this is not a case of someone mistaking the nature of this legislation for something else. It was not a procedural vote. It was not an interim vote, or any other dodge. This legislation was offered in response to the actions of KBR-Halliburton:
In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. She was detained in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.” (Jones was not an isolated case.) Jones was prevented from bringing charges in court against KBR because her employment contract stipulated that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration.
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) proposed an amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill that would withhold defense contracts from companies like KBR “if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court.”
Here’s the list of the GOP who opposed the amendment.
- 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)
Names in bold are up for reelection in 2010.
Among those voting “no” were the standard-bearers for the GOP “family values” bullshit, Jim DeMint (R-NC) and Sam Brownback (R-KS). I wonder how they square their position with their so-called Christian values? This issue needs to be front and center in opposing the campaign of the degenerate human beings. Every time they mention “family,” “morality,” “American values,” or some other such tripe, there needs to be a loud rejoinder where someone screams, “Except sexual assault!”
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