Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 99 Members of Congress to introduce the LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act. The bill would require federal surveys to include data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity on a voluntary basis, which would ensure lawmakers and agencies have robust information to adequately address LGBTQ issues.
“Fifty years since the Stonewall Riots, our policy solutions often fail to include data from, and to meet the needs of, LGBTQ communities. This Administration’s repeated attempts to exclude LGBTQ Americans from federal surveys hamper our understanding of the myriad ways discrimination persists in issues ranging from housing and employment to health care and law enforcement. It’s simply unacceptable. I’ll continue to fight for data that sheds light on the lived experiences of LGBTQ communities so that we can best develop policies that consider the needs of all our fellow Americans.”
BACKGROUND:
This legislation is endorsed by 99 Members of Congress and supported by the Center for American Progress, GLSEN, Guttmacher Institute, Human Rights Campaign, NAACP, NALEO Education Fund, National Black Justice Coalition, National Center for Transgender Equality, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, PFLAG, The Trevor Project, The Williams Institute, Third Way, Transgender Law Center, True Colors United, and the American Psychological Association.
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