I remain deeply committed to keeping America and American interests abroad safe from acts of terrorism, but we cannot afford to have tens of thousands of troops remain in a country where al Qaeda no longer operates. At a time when our…

We lost an engineering professor to another university that did offer domestic partnership benefits because of his feeling that the lack of those policies was unjust.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Ranking Member Collins, for affording me the opportunity to testify, for having this historic hearing, and for your leadership on the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act.

There is certainly nothing more American than ensuring that people have equal job opportunities and are paid fairly for a full day's work.

As it stands, some Federal employees do not receive equal compensation and benefits for their equal contributions.

I strongly believe that we must address the significant inequality in compensation experienced by an estimated 30,000 employees.

Historically, the Federal Government has been a leader in offering important benefits to its employees. But today we are lagging behind, and this is particularly true regarding the extension of benefits to employees with same-sex partners.

Government should work for us, not against us.

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 of Federal employees to the extent now…