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Washington, DC---Today, Congressman Paul Hodes stood up to defense contractors and called on House Appropriations Committee leadership to include in the final FY2010 Defense Appropriations bill an amendment that would ban Department of Defense contracts to companies that restrict their employees’ access to courts of law. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) passed the amendment to companion legislation in the Senate last week.

Congressman Hodes sent a letter in support of Senator Franken’s Amendment (S.AMDT 2588), which passed the Senate with significant bipartisan support by a vote of 68 to 30. The amendment cuts off funds for federal government contractors who use mandatory arbitration clauses in their employment contracts. These clauses allow defense contractors to deny assault victims the opportunity to seek justice in court.

"Defense contractors should never stand between Americans and their civil rights," said Congressman Hodes. "American taxpayers should not be forced to support companies that deny sexual assault victims or any American their basic rights. I will fight to make sure that this amendment is included in the final legislation."

Senator Franken proposed his amendment after a recent case in which a 19-year-old woman was raped while employed by a defense contractor in Iraq. She discovered that a clause in her contract barred her from taking her case to court. Instead, her contract forced her into an arbitration process run by her company.

Congressman Hodes wrote, "There are increasing reports of sexual assault overseas with Department of Defense contractors.  We’ve heard other brave women tell their stories.  It’s time to ensure that these courageous women get the justice they deserve. I urge you to include Senator Franken’s amendment that would outlaw Department of Defense contractors from including clauses that would prevent Ms. Jones and other women like Ms. Jones from having their day in court."

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Chairman Murtha,

I urge you to support the inclusion of Senator Franken’s amendment (SA 2588) in the Conference Committee for H.R. 3326, making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes.  Contractors who are sexually assaulted, raped and abused should not be prevented from seeking justice in an open court of law.

Senator Franken’s amendment would prohibit Department of Defense contractors from including contract stipulations that would force employees to give up their right to justice in court after being raped, assaulted, sexually assaulted, and/or falsely imprisoned.

Jamie Leigh Jones, a Texan working for Department of Defense contractor Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad, Iraq, was gang-raped by her coworkers.  After the brutal rape, her fellow contractors falsely imprisoned her, keeping her in a shipping container without food or water for more than a day.  Jones survived, after getting in touch with her father, who called her Congressman, Ted Poe. Congressman Poe reached the State Department, which found Jones and released her from captivity.

Upon returning to the U.S., Jones sought both criminal and civil justice.  But, due to a loophole in her KBR contract, she was forced into private, KBR-run arbitration, instead of a public, civil courtroom before a judge and a jury.  Jones deserves her case to be heard in front of a judge and jury.  She fought her way through the system to get her day in court.

But Jones’ story is not unique.  There are increasing reports of sexual assault overseas with Department of Defense contractors.  We’ve heard other brave women tell their stories.  It’s time to ensure that these courageous women get the justice they deserve.

I urge you to include Senator Franken’s amendment that would outlaw Department of Defense contractors from including clauses that would prevent Ms. Jones and other women like Ms. Jones from having their day in court.

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