by Damozel | Via Howie Klein: Al Franken proposed an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill passed by the House.
S. Amend. 2566 simply prohibits "the use of funds for any Federal contract with Halliburton Company, KBR, Inc., any of their subsidiaries or affiliates, or any other contracting party if such contractor or a subcontractor at any tier under such contract requires that employees or independent contractors sign mandatory arbitration clauses regarding certain claims." The "certain claims" have to do with sexual assault....
Franken offered the amendment because a KBR employee, Jamie Leigh Jones, age 19, was raped by a bunch of KBR workers in Iraq and then locked up in a crate when she tried reporting them. After she was rescued and returned to America she was informed that she couldn't take KBR to court because there was some fine print in her -- and everyone else's -- contracts that don't permit any such thing. [See the video below.]
Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama...of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was the key spokesperson for the GOP against the legislation which he called unfair to Halliburton, one of the biggest Republican Party contributors in history. (More at HuffPost)
Good going for Franken. It needed to be done, and he did it.
Recent Buck Naked Politics Postings
Jon Stewart: GOP Opposes Even the Dems' Limp Cap-and-Trade Bill
Rachel Maddow: Republicans Pretend to be Shocked by Grayson's Remarks on GOP "Health" "Care"
Obama: No Plans to Lower Troop Levels in Afghanistan
Justice Department Cracks Down on Medicare Fraud (Again)
Apple Leaves U.S. Chamber over Climate Issues
I believe that EVERY MEMBER OF CONGRESS MUST be made to listen to Keith Olberman's hour long speech. It is the best that I have heard and if congress got off of their paid for (by lobbyists and others) posteriors and actually did what is best for the people, this would and could certainly inspire them to do the RIGHT THINGS FOR HEALTH CARE FOR THE PEOPLE!
They (Congress) don't like it unless their family becomes seriously ill or has medical needs. THEN it is a great thing!
It is time that the so called "alternative" medical choices be insured. This would certainly cost less and do more good than rewarding illness.It is time that we paid for wellness, not illness.
Posted by: Jane Cundy, | October 09, 2009 at 01:05 PM