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NAT IONAL G AY & L ES BIAN TASK FOR C E
1517 U STREET NW WASHINGTON, DC 20009 202/332-6483
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Peri Jude Radecic,
Robert Bray, (202)332-6483
TASK FORCE RELEASES YEAR-END FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE REPORT
AT HALF-WAY MARK, LAWMAKERS REGISTER AT BOTH ENDS
OF VOTING SPECTRUM ON GAY ISUES
Washington, D.C., December 28...The National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force (NGLTF) today issued its year-end Federal Legislative
Report covering the first session of the 101st Congress. The
report provides information on the voting and cosponsorship
records of all 535 members of Congress from January to December,
1989, and gives an insight into the legislative progress of the
federal gay/lesbian civil rights and AIDS agenda.
Among other findings, the report shows which members of
Congress have "perfect" voting records and which need work. For
example, 85 Members of the House voted for the NGLTF pro-gay
position all of the time, while 41 Members voted against NGLTF
every time. In the Senate, 14 voted for the NGLTF position all
of the time while 12 voted against gays every time.
Senate lawmakers were tracked on four key gay/lesbian and
AIDS votes: the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), a measure
that extends anti-discrimination protections to people with AIDS
and HIV; two votes on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
anti-gay Helms' amendment; and an amendment offered by Gordon
Humphrey (R-NH) that would have banned federal funds from school
programs that presented homosexuality as "normal, natural or
healthy."
In the House, Members were tracked on eight key votes,
including the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, the NEA anti-gay
amendment, four votes on the "Armstrong amendment" that exempts
religious educational institutions in the District of Columbia
from anti-discrimination laws, and two votes on restricting
educational materials relating to homosexuality.
"This report is our way of providing information to the gay
and lesbian community about the performance of their Members mid-
way through the 101st Congress," said Peri Jude Radecic, NGLTF
legislative director. "We want to make sure activists can review
the standing of their lawmakers on our issues and then lobby them
to improve that standing."
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