Thursday
Oct152009
Lieberman, Akaka And Collins Make Bipartisan Call For Equal Federal Benefits For Same-Sex Couples
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 5:34PM
By John DuBois, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) established a bipartisan front Tuesday in favor of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act .
“We must ensure that the Federal Government has the tools it needs to compete with the private sector and attract the best and the brightest to serve our country. Simply stated, providing domestic partner benefits to federal employees makes sound business sense,” Akaka said during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing with Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management John Berry.
The federal government currently offers its employees and their dependents more than three hundred health insurance plans and subsidizes health insurance premiums, but does not cover same sex couples partners. Under the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, employees for the federal government who are in same-sex unions can receive the same benefits.
"[We] introduced this bill because we believe it is the fair and right thing to do, and also because it makes sense for the federal government as an employer,” said Lieberman.
Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) established a bipartisan front Tuesday in favor of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act .
“We must ensure that the Federal Government has the tools it needs to compete with the private sector and attract the best and the brightest to serve our country. Simply stated, providing domestic partner benefits to federal employees makes sound business sense,” Akaka said during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing with Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management John Berry.
The federal government currently offers its employees and their dependents more than three hundred health insurance plans and subsidizes health insurance premiums, but does not cover same sex couples partners. Under the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, employees for the federal government who are in same-sex unions can receive the same benefits.
"[We] introduced this bill because we believe it is the fair and right thing to do, and also because it makes sense for the federal government as an employer,” said Lieberman.
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