Tammy Baldwin: President was limited by Congress on extension of gay benefits
”[Those benefits] require an act of Congress — a change in the law in order to grant those benefits. The President signed a limited, but very meaningful, order today that extends certain rights, in certain instances, in certain agencies. And I think he went as far as he could go through an Executive Order. But now, the responsibility is really on the shoulders of Congress. And I can tell you that the legislation really got a boost by his strong endorsement today. And I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to move it.”
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin, speaking with talk show host Rachel Maddow who asked her why pension and healtcare benefits — “the big, expensive ones” — were excluded by President Obama‘s recent memorandum that extended a few Federal benefits to the partners of gay employees. He singled out Baldwin, who was at the signing, for her hard work on an evolving bill called “The Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act.” In addition to saying he supports that bill he also indicated that he was still in support of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act — a position which is at odds with last week’s bombshell news that the Justice Department was actively defending the Clinton-era law. The DOJ asked a judge to dismiss a particular lawsuit by a gay couple, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, on the grounds that they were making the wrong arguments by claiming an infringement on their rights to free speech and privacy. (MSNBC)
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