Elijah Cummings: “I thank my colleagues who worked very hard on this bill: Congressman Meadows, Congresswoman Norton, Congressman…”

“I thank my colleagues who worked very hard on this bill: Congressman Meadows, Congresswoman Norton, Congressman Sensenbrenner, and Congresswoman Jackson Lee. All of them worked in a strong, bipartisan way to make this happen. H.R. 135 is a simple, straightforward measure that would make a handful of changes to require the Federal agencies' equal employment opportunity programs conform to the model standards set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and to strengthen accountability. This bill has had overwhelming bipartisan support from the entire House of Representatives for years, and I urge the Senate to pass this measure as soon as possible. As I close, I do not want to address extraneous issues that have previously arisen regarding this measure in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. I want to be crystal clear that I believe that the supervisors who engage in discriminatory or retaliatory actions must be held accountable. However, this can be accomplished without curtailing any existing due process rights for Federal employees, and I will continue to oppose efforts to roll back due process rights. Madam Speaker, I urge the House to vote in favor of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.”