Washington Blade - October 22, 2004
Lou Chibbaro Jr., lchibbaro@washblade.com

HRC, the nation's largest gay political group, rates each member of Congress on gay and AIDS related issues in each two-year congressional cycle since at least 1992. The number of the 535 members of Congress receiving a perfect 100 score fell from 196 in 2002 to 97 this year.

In its latest scorecard for the 108th Congress, which it released Oct. 15, HRC set a heavy penalty for lawmakers who voted for a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Most members of Congress with a history of support on gay rights voted against that measure, known as the Federal Marriage Amendment.

But dozens of otherwise gay-supportive Senators and House members lost points from HRC for declining to co-sponsor bills calling for giving immigration rights to same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and expanded Medicaid benefits to people living with HIV.

Many docked over trans pledge

The largest number of gay-friendly and less supportive lawmakers lost points on the scorecard for declining to agree to sign a pledge not to discriminate in the hiring of workers in their congressional offices on the basis of "gender identity and expression" as well as sexual orientation.

In its previous scorecards, HRC limited its congressional office personnel requirement to a pledge not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. HRC added the term gender identity and expression as a component to the scorecard last year when transgender rights groups called on HRC to include transgender non-discrimination polices in all of HRC's congressional lobbying efforts.

Earlier this year, HRC startled some of its allies and supporters when it announced it would no longer support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, a gay civil rights measure pending in Congress since the early 1990s, unless it included a transgender rights clause.

No senator or House member has yet to introduce a revised version of ENDA to include transgender protection.

"I don't think this indicates a less supportive Congress," said Christopher Labonte, HRC's legislative director. "But I think the baseline has changed. And the baseline for the expectations that the GLBT community has on our public policy makers has been raised," he said.

"We have legal marriage in Massachusetts, which is historic," Labonte said. "And we need Congress to continue to recognize that. I think our scorecard is a tool in that educational process."

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said she hoped the ratings drop of about 12 points for not signing the gender identity and expression pledge would prompt lawmakers to think more about transgender issues.

"It is very good for us to be challenging our allies to go further," she said. "We will work hard in the 109th Congress to get more people to sign these pledges."

The Permanent Partners Immigration Act, the AIDS Medicaid measure, and the gender identity pledge for congressional staff hiring were new additions to the HRC scorecard, Labonte said.

The PPIA calls for amending an existing U.S. immigration law to provide a means for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent U.S. residents to sponsor their same-sex domestic partners for residence in the U.S. in the same way that citizens married to foreigners do so.

Labonte said HRC assigned a "double weight" to the vote on the proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage, causing lawmakers to lose twice as many points for voting for that measure.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, retained his 100 score despite not voting on the FMA because of his statements against it.

His running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, dropped from a 100 score in 2002 to 66 this year. Edwards lost points because he is not a co-sponsor of the permanent partners bill and did not sign a pledge that he would not discriminate in his office over gender identity or expression.

Other members who did not meet HRC's new standard on those two items received a 75 score. Edwards score was determined based on his support of six issues, not seven like the other members of Congress. He was not graded on the FMA vote, because he missed it while campaigning.

Openly gay House members Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) each received a 100 rating.

Labonte said the printed version of the HRC scorecard incorrectly shows Frank receiving a rating of 88. According to Labonte, a communication mix-up between HRC and Frank's office prevented Frank's pledge not to discriminate in his office hiring based on gender identity from reaching HRC before the printing deadline for the scorecard. Labonte said Frank has signed the gender identity pledge, and Frank's corrected score will be added to HRC's online version of the scorecard.

Meanwhile, senators and House members will have a chance to raise their ratings for the 108th Congress when lawmakers returns for a brief "lame duck" session in November if they agree to co-sponsor some of the bills HRC used for its ratings, Labonte said.

Number of 0 scores increases

The number of senators receiving a 100 rating dropped from 38 in the 107th Congress to eight in the 108th, according to the HRC scorecards for the two congresses. The number of House members receiving a 100 rating dropped from 158 in the 107th to 89 in the 108th Congress.

The number of senators receiving a 0 rating increased from 27 to 31 between the two congresses, while the number of House members receiving a 0 rating going up from 146 to 180.

As in past sessions of Congress, far more Democrats received high ratings than Republicans, Labonte said. But because Democrats tended to have higher scores in the past, more Democrats than Republicans saw their ratings drop from 100 to a lower score.

In the 107th Congress, 154 House Democrats received a 100 rating compared to just 3 Republicans. In the 108th Congress, 86 Democrat House members and two GOP House members had a 100 rating.

On the Senate side, 36 Democrats and one Republican had a 100 rating in the 107th Congress. In the 108th Congress, eight Democratic senators and no Republican senators received a 100 score.

On the other end of the scale, 139 House Republicans received a 0 rating in the 107th Congress, compared to just seven Democrats. In the 108th Congress, 172 House Republicans received a 0 rating compared to eight House Democrats.

In the Senate, 27 Republicans and no Democrats received a 0 rating in the 107th Congress. In the 108th Congress, 31 GOP senators received a 0 rating. No Senate Democrats received a 0 rating in the 108th Congress.

Democratic Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Paul Sarbanes of Maryland saw their ratings drop from 100 to 75 in the latest HRC scorecard for declining to sign the "gender identity" pledge and for declining to co-sponsor S. 1510, the Permanent Partners Immigration Act.

Virginia Sens. John Warner and George Allen, both Republicans, saw their HRC ratings drop from 14 to 13 in 108th Congress, a change that HRC considers statistically insignificant. The two senators took what HRC considers anti-gay positions on six of the seven bills or issues cited in the HRC scorecard. Both voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment calling for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in a procedural motion.

The only issue on which they backed HRC's position was a vote for an amendment introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) attaching a hate crimes bill with protections for gays to a military authorization measure.

Congresmen Steney Hoyer and Albert Wynn, both Democrats from suburban Maryland, each retained the 100 rating they received in the 107th Congress.

However, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the other Democrat from suburban Maryland, received an rating of 88, a drop from the 100 rating he received in the 107th Congress. Van Hollen lost 12 points for declining to co-sponsor the Permanent Partners immigration bill.

Congresman James Moran (D-Va.), whose district includes Arlington and Alexandria, retained his 100 rating from the 107th Congress. Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), whose district represents sections of Fairfax County, went from a 33 rating to a 0. Davis voted for the FMA.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), who represents the outer D.C. area suburbs, received a 0 rating this time, the same as in the 107th Congress.

D.C. congressional Delegate Eleanor Holms Norton's rating dropped from 100 to 80 in the latest HRC scorecard. Norton, who is barred from voting on the House floor, was rated by HRC based on her co-sponsorship decisions on four bills and on the gender identity pledge for hiring members of her staff.

Norton signed the gender identity pledge but lost 20 points for not co-sponsoring H.R. 3859, the Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2004, according to the HRC scorecard. The act calls for expanding Medicaid benefits to people with HIV, a change from the current Medicaid policy of covering only those with full-blown AIDS.

In New York, Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer saw their rating drop from 100 to 88 for not co-sponsoring the Permanent Partners bill. The two did not object to signing the gender identity pledge.

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