Eighty-five U.S. Representatives today called on President Bush to preserve the longstanding prohibition against discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civil service, which the President has affirmed is his administration,s policy. In a letter to the President, the Members of Congress, led by Representatives Barney Frank, Eliot Engel, Tammy Baldwin, Henry Waxman and George Miller, urged the President to ensure that Scott Bloch, director of the Office of Special Counsel, enforces the policy.

The letter was sent in response to Bloch,s flat refusal during an appearance last month before a Senate subcommittee to enforce the policy. The dispute first arose in early 2004, when Bloch, shortly after being appointed to his position as head of the office responsible for enforcing civil service employment rules, cast doubt on the validity of the sexual orientation discrimination ban, and removed any references to it from his agency,s web site. At that time, after protests from Frank and a group of his colleagues, President Bush reaffirmed the anti-discrimination policy, which has been in effect since the Carter Administration. Despite the President,s clear statement, Bloch never followed through, leaving his position on the policy unclear until his Senate testimony demonstrated his unwillingness to abide by the President,s statement of policy.

The letter urges the President "to take whatever steps you can to see that Mr. Bloch complies with the policy you have promulgated - and which was supported by a large majority of the House of Representatives in 1998 when a challenge to it was presented."
The letter to the President is attached.

June 20, 2005

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We were pleased by your reaffirmation of the policy that employment in the federal service should not be influenced by the sexual orientation of the employee in April 2004. We were glad that you agreed that "long-standing federal policy prohibits discrimination against federal employees based on sexual orientation" and that you "expect federal agencies to enforce this policy and to ensure that all federal employees are protected from unfair discrimination at work."

Unfortunately, Scott Bloch, whom you appointed to the Office of Special Counsel, and who therefore has a major role in enforcing this policy, has recently announced his refusal to carry it out. In addition to your reaffirmation to this policy, section 2302(b)(10) of Title 5 states that federal agencies are prohibited from discriminating against employees based on off duty conduct that does not affect job performance. This provision has been interpreted by every Administration, from that of President Carter, through President Clinton, to make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Before Mr. Bloch became Special Counsel, the Office of Special Counsel enforced this prohibition.

We write to urge you to take whatever steps you can to see that Mr. Bloch complies with the policy you have promulgated- and which was supported by a large majority of the House of Representatives in 1998 when a challenge to it was presented. We are ready to work with you in helping to assure that your policy is followed.

Rep. Barney Frank
Rep. Eliot Engel
Rep. Tammy Bladwin
Rep. Henry Waxman
Rep. George Miller
Rep. Nancy Pelosi
Rep. Steny Hoyer
Rep. Charles A. Gonzalez
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard
Rep. Louise Slaughter
Rep. Rahm Emanuel
Rep. Stephanie Herseth
Rep. Robert Scott
Rep. Ed Pastor
Rep. Donald Payne
Rep. John Olver
Rep. Dennis Moore
Rep. Susan Davis
Rep. Carolyn Maloney
Rep. Lois Capps
Rep. Stephen Lynch
Rep. Julia Carson
Rep. Shelley Berkley
Rep. Martin Olav Sabo
Rep. John Lewis
Rep. Neil Abercrombie
Rep. Joe Crowley
Rep. Bob Filner
Rep. Jim McGovern
Rep. Bernard Sanders
Rep. Chris Van Hollen
Rep. Pete Stark
Rep. Major Owens
Rep. Maxine Waters
Rep. Maurice Hinchey
Rep. Michael Capuano
Rep. Ed Case
Rep. Zoe Lofgren
Rep. Jim McDermott
Rep. James Moran
Rep. Nita Lowey
Rep. Sam Farr
Rep. John F. Tierney
Rep. Sherrod Brown
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
Rep. Edward Markey
Rep. Eleanor Holmes-Norton
Rep. David Price
Rep. Richard Neal
Rep. Marty Meehan
Rep. Gwen Moore
Rep. Diana DeGette
Rep. Lloyd Doggett
Rep. Hilda Solis
Rep. Ellen Tauscher
Rep. Ron Kind
Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Anthony Weiner
Rep. Jay Inslee
Rep. Adam Schiff
Rep. Diane Watson
Rep. Patrick Kennedy
Rep. Rush Holt
Rep. Adam Smith
Rep. Doris Matsui
Rep. Dennis Kucinich
Rep. William Delahunt
Rep. Charles Rangel
Rep. John Dingell
Rep. Raul M.Grijalva
Rep. Steve Rothman
Rep. Barbara Lee
Rep. Jan Schakowsky
Rep. Howard Berman
Rep. Luis Gutierrez
Rep. Jerrold Nadler
Rep. Gary Ackerman
Rep. Lynn Woolsey
Rep. Tim Ryan
Rep. David Wu
Rep. Kendrick B. Meek
Rep. Brian Higgins
Rep. Tom Udall
Rep. John Spratt
Rep. Chris Shays