220
Opinion of the Court
of Act is "to provide appropriate remedies for intentional discrimination . . . in the workplace"); 137 Cong. Rec. 28636- 28638, 28663-28667, 28676-28680 (1991) (introduction and discussion of Danforth/Kennedy Amendment No. 1274, in relevant part permitting recovery of compensatory damages); id., at 28880-28881 (statements of Sen. Warner and Sen. Kennedy) (clarifying that Danforth/Kennedy amendment covers federal employees and suggesting amendment to this effect). But the CDA's sponsors and supporters said nothing about limiting the EEOC's ability to use the new Title VII remedy or suggesting that it would be desirable to distinguish the new Title VII remedy from old Title VII remedies in that respect. This total silence is not surprising. What reason could there be for Congress, anxious to have the EEOC consider as a preliminary matter every other possible remedy, not to want the EEOC similarly to consider compensatory damages as well?
Respondent makes three important arguments in favor of a more limited interpretation of the statutes—an interpretation that would deprive the EEOC of the power to award compensatory damages. First, respondent points out that the CDA says nothing about the EEOC, or EEOC proceedings, but rather states only that a complaining party may recover compensatory damages "in an action brought under section . . . 717." 42 U. S. C. § 1981a(a)(1) (emphasis added). And the word "action" often refers to judicial cases, not to administrative "proceedings." See New York Gaslight Club, Inc. v. Carey, 447 U. S. 54, 60-62 (1980) (distinguishing civil "actions" from administrative "proceedings").
Had Congress thought it important so to limit the scope of the CDA, however, it could easily have cross-referenced § 717(c), the civil action subsection itself, rather than cross-referencing the whole of § 717, which includes authorization for the EEOC to enforce the section through "appropriate remedies." Regardless, the question, as we see it, is
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