This page contains bill sponsorships in the Senate and House. Bill sponsorships indicate the topics that legislators are most interested in, and spend the most time on.

2009-H2517 on May 20, 2009

A federal employee who has a same-sex domestic partner and the domestic partner of the employee shall be entitled to benefits available to, and shall be subject to obligations imposed upon, a married employee and the spouse of the employee. In order to obtain benefits and assume obligations under this Act, an employee shall file an affidavit of eligibility certifying that the employee and the domestic partner of the employee:
1. are each other's sole domestic partner and intend to remain so indefinitely;
2. have a common residence, and intend to continue the arrangement;
3. are at least 18 years of age and mentally competent to consent to contract;
4. share responsibility for a significant measure of each other's common welfare and financial obligations
5. are not married to or domestic partners with anyone else;
6. are same sex domestic partners, and not related in a way that, if the two were of opposite sex, would prohibit legal marriage in the State in which they reside; and
7. understand that willful falsification of information within the affidavit may lead to disciplinary action and the recovery of the cost of benefits received related to such falsification and may constitute a criminal violation.
   An employee or domestic partner of an employee who obtains benefits under this Act shall file a statement of dissolution of the domestic partnership not later than 30 days after the death of the employee or the domestic partner or the date of dissolution of the domestic partnership.

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   Participating counts on VoteMatch question 3. Question 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage Scores: -2=Strongly oppose; -1=Oppose; 0=neutral; 1=Support; 2=Strongly support.
   • Topic: Civil Rights
   • Headline: Give domestic partnership benefits to Federal employees (Score: 2)
   • Headline 2: Sponsored bill for Federal domestic partnership benefits (Score: 2)
     
     Participating counts on AmericansElect question 7.
   • Headline: Give domestic partnership benefits to Federal employees (Answer: B)
   • Headline 2: Sponsored bill for Federal domestic partnership benefits (Answer: C)
   • AmericansElect Quiz Question 7 on Social Issues: When you think about the rights of same-sex couples, which of the following is closest to your personal opinion?
     • A: Same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry or form any kind of civil union
     • B: Same-sex couples should be allowed to form civil unions, but not to marry in the traditional sense
     • C: Same-sex couples should be allowed to marry legally, with all the same rights as traditional marriages
     • D: Unsure
     
     
     
   • Key for participation codes:
   • Sponsorships: p=sponsored; o=co-sponsored; s=signed
   • Memberships: c=chair; m=member; e=endorsed; f=profiled; s=scored
   • Resolutions: i=introduced; w=wrote; a=adopted
   • Cases: w=wrote; j=joined; d=dissented; c=concurred
   • Surveys: '+' supports; '-' opposes.
   
   
   

   Democrats participating in 2009-H2517
   Gary Ackerman	s1s	New York Dem./Ind./Lib. (Retiring 2012)
   Tammy Baldwin	s2p	WI Democratic Challenger
   Shelley Berkley	s1s	Nevada Democrat (Senate run 2012)
   Howard Berman	s1s	California Democrat
   Lois Capps	s1s	California Democrat (retiring 2016)
   Michael Capuano	s1s	MA Former Democratic Primary Senate Challenger (2009)
   Andre Carson	s1s	Indiana Democrat
   James Clyburn	s1s	South Carolina Democrat
   Gerry Connolly	s1s	Virginia Democrat
   Joseph Crowley	s1s	New York Democrat
   Elijah Cummings	s1s	Maryland Democrat
   Susan Davis	s1s	California Democrat
   Diana DeGette	s1s	Colorado Democrat
   Bill Delahunt	s1s	Massachusetts Democrat (until 2010)
   John Dingell	s1s	Michigan Democrat (retiring 2014)
   Keith Ellison	s1s	Minnesota Democrat
   Eliot Engel	s1s	New York Democrat/Liberal
   Anna Eshoo	s1s	California Democrat
   Sam Farr	s1s	California Democrat
   Bob Filner	s1s	California Democrat (Mayoral run 2011)
   Raul Grijalva	s1s	Arizona Democrat
   Luis Gutierrez	s1s	Illinois Democrat
   Jane Harman	s1s	California Democrat (Resigned 2011)
   Alcee Hastings	s1s	Florida Democrat
   Rush Holt	s1s	New Jersey Democrat (retiring 2014)
   Jesse Louis Jackson	s1s	Illinois Democrat (Resigned 2013)
   Patrick Kennedy	s1s	Rhode Island Democrat (until 2010)
   Carolyn Kilpatrick	s1s	Michigan Democrat (until 2010)
   Dennis Kucinich	s1s	Ohio Democrat (Lost 2012 Primary)
   James Langevin	s1s	Rhode Island Democrat
   Zoe Lofgren	s1s	California Democrat
   Nita Lowey	s1s	New York Democrat
   Carolyn Maloney	s1s	New York Democrat/Liberal
   Doris Matsui	s1s	California Democrat
   Betty McCollum	s1s	Minnesota Democrat
   Jim McDermott	s1s	Washington Democrat
   Jim McGovern	s1s	Massachusetts Democrat
   Michael Michaud	s1s	Maine Democratic Governor Challenger
   George Miller	s1s	California Democrat (retiring 2014)
   Dennis Moore	s1s	Kansas Democrat (until 2010)
   Gwen Moore	s1s	Wisconsin Democrat
   James Moran	s1s	Virginia Democrat (retiring 2014)
   Jerrold Nadler	s1s	New York Dem./Lib./Working-Families
   Eleanor Holmes Norton	s1s	District of Columbia Democrat
   Ed Pastor	s1s	Arizona Democrat (retiring 2014)
   Jared Polis	s1s	Colorado Democrat
   Mike Quigley	s1s	Illinois Democrat
   Steven Rothman	s1s	New Jersey Democrat
   Linda Sanchez	s1s	California Democrat
   John Sarbanes	s1s	Maryland Democrat
   Jan Schakowsky	s1s	Illinois Democrat
   Jose Serrano	s1s	New York Democrat/Liberal
   Brad Sherman	s1s	California Democrat
   Pete Stark	s1s	California Democrat
   Betty Sutton	s1s	Ohio Democrat
   John Tierney	s1s	Massachusetts Democrat
   Nydia Velazquez	s1s	New York Democrat/Working-Families
   Debbie Wasserman Schultz	s1s	Florida Democrat
   Henry Waxman	s1s	California Democrat (retiring 2014)
   Anthony Weiner	s1s	New York Former Democrat(Resigned 2011)
   Peter Welch	s1s	Vermont Democrat
   Robert Wexler	s1s	Florida Democrat (resigned Jan. 2010)
   Lynn Woolsey	s1s	California Democrat (Retiring 2012)
   David Wu	s1s	Oregon Democrat (Resigned 2011)

   
   
   

   Republicans participating in 2009-H2517
   Ileana Ros-Lehtinen	s1s	Florida Republican

   
   
   

   Independents participating in 2009-H2517

   
   
   

   Total recorded by OnTheIssues:

   Democrats: 64 Republicans: 1 Independents: 0