The U.S. House has passed landmark legislation that amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected groups. The Equality Act extends discrimination protections for LGBTQ people at the workplace, in housing, education, among other areas.

This is Democratic Congressmember Mondaire Jones of New York — who is among the first Black, openly gay men to be elected to Congress — speaking on the House floor Thursday.

Rep. Mondaire Jones: “To grow up poor, Black and gay is to not see yourself anywhere. It is also to feel completely unseen as so many people around you invalidate your very existence. … Today we send a powerful message to millions of LGBTQ people around the country, and indeed around the world, that they are seen, that they are valued, that their lives are worthy of being protected.”

The bill is expected to face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republicans largely oppose the Equality Act.