WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today released a statement following his vote against the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The bill ultimately passed by a vote of 68-29.
The omnibus package, totaling $1.7 trillion, did not include several legislative priorities for Louisiana including the Reinvesting in Shoreline Economies & Ecosystems (RISEE) Act despite strong bipartisan support.
“Waiting to take up critical spending bills until days before a Christmas deadline is chaos by design,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Over a trillion dollars in taxpayer dollars are being spent with little to no notice or public discussion. Hopefully, with Republicans in charge of the House next Congress, this pattern of procrastination will change.”
Cassidy was able to secure the inclusion of his Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act (PWFA), legislation to ensure pregnant mothers who decide to remain in the workplace, by preference or necessity have access to reasonable workplace accommodations such as stools if they are not required to stand or extra bathroom breaks. This amendment passed by a broad, bipartisan vote of 73-24.
“The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act should have and could have passed overwhelmingly long ago with an up or down vote. Regardless, this amendment ensured pregnant mothers will have the workplace accommodations they need. This is pro-mother, pro-life and pro-family,” said Dr. Cassidy.
Supporters of the PWFA include the National Association of Evangelicals, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the United States Chamber of Commerce, and the March of Dimes. The amendment includes all of the religious liberty protections that exist under Section 702(a) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and includes language to ensure that no employer can be forced to pay for abortion services.
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