Civil and Human Rights Coalition Thanks Senator Reid for Decades of Service

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president and director of policy, issued the following joint statement in response to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s announcement that he will not seek reelection in 2016:

“Senator Harry Reid has been a friend and ally of the civil and human rights coalition since he first joined Congress in 1983. On fair pay, health care reform, disability rights, hate crimes, domestic violence, and much more, Reid has been a true leader in advancing civil and human rights issues and countless nominations through the Senate.

Under his steadfast and determined stewardship, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Violence Against Women Act, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and the repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Never one to back down, Reid has spent years on the Senate floor fighting for working families, communities of color, women, LGBT people, and people with disabilities.

We thank Senator Reid for more than three decades of national service and advocacy on behalf of the American people, and for all he has done to protect the civil and human rights of all Americans.”

Wade Henderson is president and CEO, and Nancy Zirkin is executive vice president and director of policy of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

###