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<DIV><FONT size=2>What a bunch of whores. I hope everyone, regardless of
political affiliation, who votes against this provision is unseated in their
next election .</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>W.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=rforce2003@yahoo.com href="mailto:rforce2003@yahoo.com">Ron Force</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, October 22, 2009 2:42
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Waht a Great
country (continued)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman,new york,times,serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<DIV><BR>Sam Stein<BR><A
href="mailto:stein@huffingtonpost.com">stein@huffingtonpost.com</A> | HuffPost
Reporting<BR><BR>Franken's Anti-Rape Amendment May Be Stripped By Senior Dem,
Sources Say<BR><BR>An amendment that would prevent the government from working
with contractors who denied victims of assault the right to bring their case
to court is in danger of being watered down or stripped entirely from a larger
defense appropriations bill.<BR><BR>Multiple sources have told the Huffington
Post that Sen. Dan Inouye, a longtime Democrat from Hawaii, is considering
removing or altering the provision, which was offered by Sen. Al Franken
(D-Minn.) and passed by the Senate several weeks ago.<BR><BR>Inouye's office,
sources say, has been lobbied by defense contractors adamant that the language
of the Franken amendment would leave them overly exposed to lawsuits and at
constant risk of having contracts dry up. The Senate is considering taking out
a provision known as the Title VII claim, which (if removed) would allow
victims of assault or rape to bring suit against the individual perpetrator
but not the contractor who employed him or her.<BR><BR>"The defense
contractors have been storming his office," said a source with knowledge of
the situation. "Inouye either will get the amendment taken out altogether, or
water it down significantly. If they water it down, they will take out the
Title VII claims. This means that in discrimination cases, they will still
force you into a secret forced arbitration on KBR's (or other contractors')
own terms -- with your chances of prevailing practically zero. The House seems
to be very supportive of the original Franken amendment and all in line, but
their hands are tied since it originated in the Senate. And since Inouye runs
the show on this bill, he can easily take it out to get Republicans and the
defense contractors off his back, which looks increasingly likely."<BR><BR>A
Democratic aide on the Hill, also with knowledge of the situation, confirmed
the account, as did a source who works on defense contracting matters outside
of Congress. "The contractors are putting on a full-court press on this
amendment... they are all doing it," said the latter source.<BR><BR>A
spokesman for the Senate Committee on Appropriations said that "the committee
does not comment on ongoing conference negotiations." But another source with
knowledge of the situation stressed that it was premature to say that any
decision has been made. Indeed, even the Hill source said that the situation
is fluid and could change before the bill is sent out of committee -- likely
in the next few days.<BR><BR>The decision on what to do with Franken's
amendment is being made in conference committee with the House of
Representatives, which severely limits the number of lawmakers who can weigh
in on the matter.<BR><BR>The second-longest-serving member of the United
States Senate, Inouye is a veteran of WWII. The chairman of the Committee on
Appropriations, he has received $294,900 in donations from the defense and
aerospace industries over the course of his career, according to the Center
for Responsive Politics.<BR><BR>Franken's amendment passed the Senate on
October 21, 2009 by a voting margin of 68 to 30. The 30 Republicans who
opposed the provision were widely pilloried in the press. But they were
actually joined in some of their concerns by the Obama administration's
Department of Defense, which worried that "enforcement would be problematic,
especially in cases where privity of contract does not exist between parties
within the supply chain that supports a contract."<BR><BR>The White House, for
its part, told HuffPost it supports the intent of the amendment and it is
"working with the conferees to make sure that it is enforceable," said
spokesman Tommy Vietor.<BR><BR><SPAN>Read more at: <A
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/22/frankens-anti-rape-amendm_n_329896.html?view=print"
target=_blank>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/22/frankens-anti-rape-amendm_n_329896.html?view=print</A></SPAN><BR></DIV></DIV><BR>
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