In an unusual display of LGBT advocacy partnership, Democratic Rep. Barney Frank and Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus co-authored a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner promoting awareness of a recent amendment supporting a crackdown against LGBT persecution in foreign governments receiving multilateral development financial aid.
According to the Washington Blade, the letter, dated March 30, requests that Geithner inform U.S. officials at multilateral development institutions of the recently approved amendment, explaining “we believe this is important not only as a matter of public policy and the advancement of American values, but also politically in terms of our ability to generate the necessary support to enable the [United States] to continue to play a significant and influential role at these institutions.”
The Treasury Department has not yet issued a response to the letter in question.
Frank and Bachus base their letter on the amendment against overseas LGBT persecution approved on March 15 in conjunction with legislation outlining 2012 fiscal priorities. The lawmakers’ letter echoes the amendment, which urges the Treasury Department to advocate against human rights and LGBT discrimination in those foreign governments receiving aid from multilateral development banks.
The letter makes specific reference to Uganda, where recent attempts to legalize incarceration and the death penalty for outed LGBT persons caused an international uproar.
“In some African countries, we have seen the physical persecution of people who are members of sexual minorities,” the letter reads. “In Uganda, which was a major beneficiary of the multilateral debt relief initiatives, there is active persecution of people who are members of sexual minorities.”
While Frank has long been an advocate for LGBT equality, Bachus’ signature marks unprecedented support. The republican representative has an anti-gay track record in Congress and has received a consistent “0” rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s congressional scorecard thanks to votes against DADT repeal, the ENDA and hate crimes protection legislation.
