Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28) announced that the Title II provisions of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), barring employers from discriminating against an employee based on either his/her genetic information, will go into effect November 21, 2009.

“We are all potential victims of genetic discrimination. With the implementation of these protections, an employer will no longer be able to hire or fire someone based on their genetic make-up,” said Slaughter. “By prohibiting the improper use of genetic information, Americans will be encouraged to take advantage of the tremendous life altering potential of genetic research.  It took thirteen years to pass GINA, and I just wish that Senator Kennedy, who worked tirelessly with me on this bill, was here to see this day.”

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) issued the following statement after the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission issued a blistering new report on Chinese espionage and trade practices.

“For too long our trade policy with respect to China has been to simply give large American corporations incentives to move there and lay off U.S. workers,” Slaughter said. “At the same time, we’ve provided few if any incentive to stay here and invest in this workforce. The result is that our legacy of talented and innovative workers has been eroded over the years to the point where we now have a vastly diminished manufacturing base. And our trade imbalance with China is substantial and growing each year. This report shows that the Chinese government systematically subsidizes their industry to target important areas of U.S. and world markets. These predatory trade practices violate international trade law, and reinforce my belief that we need to strengthen our trade enforcement efforts and rethink our trade relationship with China.”