Wednesday: Proceeding to ENDA in the Senate

The Senate starts at 10:30 a.m., and senators will immediately and automatically agree to a motion to proceed to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

With that, the Senate will officially be on the gay rights bill, and the next question will be how to handle amendments.

{mosads}As of Wednesday morning, only Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had filed an amendment, which would prohibit labor unions from forcing employees to pay union dues. But Democrats have indicated they only want amendments that are germane to the bill, S. 815.

Some Republicans who supported the bill in a procedural vote Monday are expected to get votes on their amendments to strengthen language giving religious groups an exemption from ENDA.