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THIRTY U.S. Senators Voted Against Allowing Government Contractor Rape Victims from Taking Their Workplace Sexual Assault Cases to Court

Filed under: Activism, Alabama, Corrupt Lawyers, Corrupt bastards, Domestic Violence, Getting screwed by the politicians, Senator Al Franken, Senator Jeff Sessions, Speak Out, U.S. Senate, United States Senate, Violence against women — justice4mothers @ 10:48 pm

From The Huffington Post:

Jon Stewart Takes On 30 Republicans Who Voted Against Franken Rape Amendment (VIDEO)

Huffington Post |  Alex Leo
First Posted: 10-15-09 09:06 AM   |   Updated: 10-15-09 10:30 AM

In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her Halliburton/KBR co-workers while working in Iraq and locked in a shipping container for over a day to prevent her from reporting her attack. The rape occurred outside of U.S. criminal jurisdiction, but to add serious insult to serious injury she was not allowed to sue KBR because her employment contract said that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration–a process that overwhelmingly favors corporations.

This year, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) proposed an amendment that would deny defense contracts to companies that ask employees to sign away the right to sue. It passed, but it wasn’t the slam dunk Jon Stewart expected. Instead the amendment received 30 nay votes all from Republicans. “I understand we’re a divided country, some disagreements on health care. How is ANYONE against this?” He asked.

He went on to show video of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) arguing that it’s not the government’s place to decide who the government does business with and juxtaposed that with Republican sentiment on how the government should deal with ACORN. “I guess it’s an efficiency thing. You don’t want to waste tax-payer money giving it to someone who advises fake prostitutes how to commit imaginary crimes, you want to give it to Halliburton because they’re committing real gang rape.”

And who are the corrupt bastards?

Again, from The Huffington Post:

Jason Linkins

jason@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost Reporting

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Meet The Senators Who Voted Against The Franken Amendment

I think that all homo sapiens can understand how the mere thought of an organization that receives government money through contract mechanisms being tangentially involved in setting up a fake tax shelter for a fake pimp and his fake prostitution ring of fake prostitutes can justifiably lead to lawmakersgoing absolutely cross-eyed with white-hot, impotent rage. But what happens when a similarly taxpayer-endowed contractor attempts to cover up employee-on-employee gang rape by locking up the victim in a shipping container without food and water and threatening her with reprisals if she report the incident? Somehow, it doesn’t engender the same level of anger!

Credit new Senator Al Franken however, for introducing an amendment to the Defense Appropriations billthat would punish contractors if they “restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court.” You’d think that this would be a no-brainer, actually, but that didn’t stop Jeff Sessions from labeling Franken’s effort a “political attack directed at Halliburton.” Franken, of course, pointed out that his amendment would apply broadly, to all contractors, because otherwise,‘twould be a bill of attainder, right? Right?

Franken’s amendment ended up passing, 68-30. Here’s a list of the Senators who showed broad support for Roman Polanski by voting against it:

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)

ADDENDUM: It’s been pointed out to me that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbied against the Franken amendment as well:

Republicans point out that the amendment was opposed by a host of business interests, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and applies to a wide range of companies, including IBM and Boeing.

I guess we must cover up crimes like rape in order to save capitalism.

Do any of these senators work for YOU?  If so, please contact them and let them know how you feel about their vote!

Don’t stop what you are doing, Senator Al Franken, you are doing awesome things!