Madam Chairman, I yield myself 3 1/2 minutes.

   Madam Chairman, in the United States, the law forbids discrimination in employment on the basis of a person's race, color, sex, religion or national origin. It forbids discrimination based on age or disability, perceived or real. These protections were not easy to achieve, but we are better for them.

   Today, ENDA seeks to expand the law to prohibit job discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation, and my amendment would also include gender identity.

   We have worked steadily over the years to rid our Nation of irrational hate and fear against gay and transgender Americans that too often results in violent hate crimes, ostracism, bullying and discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations or education.

   Today, at least 282 cities and towns and 19 States across the country have protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation in both public and private sector jobs. And more than 93 local jurisdictions in 11 States have laws that include protections based on gender identity.

   195 American businesses employing more than 8.3 million American workers have exemplary policies that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors; 58 percent of these firms provide employment protections on the basis of gender identity.

   It is time for Congress to catch up to our communities and American businesses. Today we can strengthen our laws against discrimination in the workplace.

   While gay and lesbian Americans are now out and accepted in record numbers, not everyone understands the issue of gender identity. Few understand how a person's body might not match their internal sense of gender.

   This is not a new phenomenon. It is not a fad. And it is certainly not a reason to lose one's job.

   Some have asked why it is essential to include protections for transgender Americans in this legislation. The answer is that this community shares a common history with the rest of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community, a history of suffering, discrimination, and too often violence, just for being who they are.

   The importance of nondiscrimination laws cannot be overstated. Substantively, they provide legal remedies and a chance to seek justice. Symbolically, they say that in America we judge our fellow citizens by their integrity, their character, their talents; and not their sexual orientation or gender identity, race or religion, age or disability.