Nation In Brief

Staff Reports

Michigan Senate committee approves bills to destroy partner health care benefits

LANSING, MICHIGAN --  The Michigan Senate Committee on Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing today approved House Bills 4770 and 4771, which would eliminate health care benefits for unmarried partners of public employees across the state. They prohibit any government entity in the state from providing such benefits and prohibit unions from including them in collective bargaining agreements. The bills passed along party lines.

The Michigan House of Representatives passed the bills by a vote of 64-44 in September. Anti-gay Republicans Representative Dave Agema (the bill’s sponsor) and Attorney General Bill Schuette have been trying to strip away health care benefits for gay and lesbian couples since February.

Emily Dievendorf the Director of Policy for Equality Michigan released the following statement:

“Republican lawmakers continue to attack hardworking gay and transgender people rather than focusing on real issues. They are ignoring best practices in business and promoting a hostile environment for gay and lesbian couples. We hope that voters questions where lawmakers’ real priorities are.”

“Tens of thousands of public and private employees in our state have access to health care benefits for domestic partners – this legislation, if passed, would have a devastating impact. This is a crucial issue for Michigan – do we really want to be known as a state with such a regressive legislature that we deny equal access to health care benefits? Michigan Republicans are ready to close the door for gay and lesbian couples who want to live here – even if it means dictating human resources policy for local governments.”

Over 900,000 Michigan employees of private companies are eligible to offer health care benefits to their domestic partners. Over 20 major corporations provide such benefits, including:

• Ford

• General Motors

• Chrysler

• Dow Chemical

• Whirlpool

Several public entities, representing tens of thousands of workers, provide such benefits for domestic partners of employees, including:

• The State of Michigan

• At least 10 public universities

• At least 5 city and county governments

• At least 3 public school districts

Ranking  Democrat Wants Hearing On House GOP Leadership's DOMA Defence Expenditures

U. S. Representative Mike Honda (D-California)

WASHINGTON D.C. -- California Democratic Representative Mike Honda- a ranking member of the House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee- sent a letter Tuesday to the Subcommittee’s Chairman Ander Crenshaw (R-Florida) asking for a hearing to layout the case for the GOP led House expenditures on defending the Defence Of Marriage Act.

GOP leadership initially stated that there would only be $500,000 spent on legal services provided by former U. S. Solicitor General Paul Clement's services to defend DOMA in ongoing Federal Court cases. The House general counsel then upped that amount to $750,000, and recently indicated that upwards of a $1.5 million expenditure can be accomplished with written consent from House leadership.

Honda's letter reads in part:

"In a time of professed fiscal responsibility, it is unconscionable for the House Republican Leadership to continue to spend taxpayer money to protect discrimination, especially through a process that has, thus far, lacked any semblance of transparency. I ask that you immediately hold a hearing on this matter so that we can shine light on this irresponsible, backdoor use of taxpayer money.

Our subcommittee and the American people deserve to know why the House Republican Leadership is pursuing this effort to protect a discriminatory law, an effort which, at a time of high unemployment, only serves to create jobs for Speaker Boehner’s hand-picked, high-priced lawyers. We also deserve to know why the cost has escalated so rapidly in such a short time, and how much the Republican Leadership plans to spend on this unwise endeavor. We should not be handing over a blank check that will allow unlimited taxpayer dollars to be spent on the Republican Leadership’s political agenda."