The House is moving quickly to approve
a federal gay partner benefits bill, TheHill.com
reported.
The Domestic Partnership Benefits and
Obligations Act (DPBO), which would extend benefits to the gay
spouses of federal employees, might be up for a floor vote before the
end of the year, the website reported.
Openly lesbian Wisconsin Representative
Tammy Baldwin introduced the legislation in May and has testified in
favor of the legislation both in the House and Senate.
In June, President Obama signed an
executive order that extends some benefits but the order changed
little; it offered federal employees sick leave to take care of a
sick partner or a non-biological child, but partners remain blocked
from access to primary health insurance and pension programs. At the
time, Obama mentioned the bill, saying Congress would need to fill in
the gaps.
Openly gay Massachusetts Representative
Barney Frank has praised Obama for supporting the measure, saying:
“He deserves the credit. He has kept this issue alive.”
During her Senate testimony last month,
Baldwin said the bill would shore up the government's competitive
advantage.
“As it stands, some federal employees
do not receive equal compensation and benefits for their equal
contributions. And the federal government is not keeping pace with
leading private-sector employers in recruiting and retaining top
talent.”
Baldwin also testified on the bill's
anti-fraud provisions, saying the “penalties for fraudulent claims
for domestic partners would be the same as the current penalties for
fraudulent claims of marriage.”
As a lesbian and federal worker, she
also offered personal testimony on the inequities of federal
benefits.
“[T]he difference between my health
benefits and yours [Senator Lieberman], with regard to that benefit
alone over the course of my ten years in Congress is measured in five
figures,” she testified.
John Berry, the director of the Office
of Personnel Management and the highest-ranking openly gay official
in the Obama administration, testified on the cost of the bill,
saying it would be “negligible.”
Both versions, however, have yet to
attract sufficient support for approval. The bill's House version
has attracted 126 co-sponsors, all Democrats, while Senator Joseph
Lieberman's version has the backing of 24 senators, including one
Republican.
Baldwin said she “absolutely”
believes the bill will pass.