The contentious and partisan $2.4 trillion Build Back Better plan congressional Democrats want to enact is out. Strong bipartisan majorities for bills to make it easier for sexual assault and harassment victims to sue and to reform the U.S. Postal Service are in.
Congressional Democrats, who hold slim majorities in the House and Senate, haven’t exactly had a “Kumbaya” moment with Republicans, who are working hard to win control of both chambers in November. But it’s the new political reality on Capitol Hill, at least until the return of Sen. Ben Ray Lujan. The New Mexico Democrat was hospitalized in late January after suffering a stroke, planning to return to the Senate next month. In the meantime, Senate Democrats only have 49 members who can vote, compared to 50 Republicans.
Lujan’s colleagues on both sides of the aisle have wished him well and for a speedy recovery. With him gone, they’ve also become quite productive on the legislative front. Several bills have passed that have garnered support from both parties, including a push by Senate Democrats to push Build Back Better, a catch-all social spending bill sought by President Joe Biden. This is a notable change from the usual rank partisanship that prevails on Capitol Hill.
The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bill that would ban mandatory arbitration in sexual harassment cases, marking a significant change to employment law. The House passed the legislation earlier this week in a bipartisan 335-97 vote, and the White House has said Biden supports it. The bill would amend the Federal Arbitration Act to ban employers from including clauses in contracts that require workers to litigate sexual assault and harassment claims in private forums rather than in court. It would also void existing clauses.
Critics say the practice of using arbitration in harassment or assault cases silences victims and allows employers to avoid scrutiny.
HOUSE PASSES BILL BANNING MANDATORY ARBITRATION IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASES
In remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. Lindsey Graham said he and Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who first introduced the bill in 2017, listened to victims and businesses when crafting the legislation. Graham then thanked both Democrats and Republicans for supporting the bill.
“We can function up here, we’re listening to the world as it is,” Graham said.
Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who advocated for the bill, joined lawmakers at the press conference. Carlson had filed a lawsuit against the late former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes and later co-founded the nonprofit organization Lift Our Voices to work against nondisclosure agreements and forced arbitration clauses in employment contracts.
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“Today’s vote means that this historic bipartisan bill will become law once it is signed by the President — protecting millions of people by making their workplaces safer,” Carlson said in a statement.
Thursday’s bipartisan votes followed the House’s passage of legislation to overhaul the Postal Service’s finances and operations on Wednesday. The bipartisan legislation passed the chamber in a 342-92 vote.
Also on Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a proposal to reauthorize the 1990s-era law that extends protections for victims of domestic and sexual violence, the Violence Against Women Act.
