"The option exists for opposite-sex couples to marry in every State of the Union."
"I represent a district with a world-class university, the University of Wisconsin-Madison..."
"the way this legislation would work in practice recognizes the fact we have Federal employees around the world"
"the option is available for a heterosexual couple to marry, and then these employment benefits would flow automatically on the basis of that marriage and that spousal relationship."
"Should they desire those benefits, they would have the option of marrying, and that is a choice open to them."
"that would require a separate act of Congress, one that I support strongly, which would be repeal of title 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act"
"the Federal Government cannot recognize these marriages because of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act"
"This legislation is a valuable business opportunity for the Federal Government to enhance our recruitment and our retention efforts."
"the President took an important first step toward addressing these shortfalls when he signed the memorandum last month directing all Federal agencies to extend benefits to same-sex domestic partners o..."
"Surely, the public interest requires that these obligations also apply to partners of gay and lesbian office holders."
"The passage of H.R. 2517 is essential to accomplishing both of these goals."
"He went on to say that, as Americans, we are all affected when our promises of equality go unfulfilled."
"President Obama recognized and acknowledged that fact when he signed the memorandum calling it just a start."
"I want to make very clear that this bill contains strong antifraud provisions, requiring employees to file an affidavit of eligibility in order to extend benefits to their domestic partners."
"Simply put, extending benefits to same-sex partners is a good, practical, bottom-line business decision."
"I would associate myself with the comments of Director Berry with regard to this point."
"The Federal Government simply does not effectively compete with these companies for every talented person; we fail to offer comparable job benefits to our employees."
"Under current law, the Federal Government cannot offer basic benefits like health insurance, life insurance, dental or vision insurance to domestic partners of our gay and lesbian Federal employees."
