Congress to hold first-ever hearing on transgender discrimination

BayWindows.com – by Ethan Jacobs – Staff Reporter

The House Committee on Education and Labor is tentatively scheduled to hold a hearing on employment discrimination against transgender people on June 26 — the first congressional hearing to focus primarily on transgender issues. The committee’s subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) will hear testimony on the issue.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), said the historic hearing will give Congress its first serious look at discrimination around gender identity and expression. She credited subcommittee chairman Rep. Robert Andrews (D-New Jersey) and Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) with pushing for the hearing.