Thursday: Senate to pass gay rights ENDA bill

The Senate starts at 10 a.m., and by the early afternoon, it should be able to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

At 11:45 a.m., the senate will vote on an amendment from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that would broaden the extent to which religious groups are exempted from the bill’s protections against discrimination against gays. But that amendment will need 60 votes to pass.

{mosads}After that, the Senate will adopt a substitute amendment by unanimous consent, and a vote to end debate on that substitute.

If that last vote succeeds, the Senate will vote on passage of the bill.

On Tuesday, the Senate quickly cleared an amendment from Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) aimed at preventing the government from retaliating against religious groups that wouldn’t be held to the bill’s standards on discrimination.

At this rate, the Senate could pass the bill without hearing a single objection from any Republican senator. The GOP’s silence is likely explained in part by this week’s announcement that House Republicans would not set up a vote on the bill.

Republicans have said the bill would set up a class of people with special rights, which could lead to legal problems for companies as they enforce it.