Tammy Baldwin

Saturday, Tammy Baldwin, the openly lesbian U.S. Representative from Wisconsin, told attendees at the 2009 International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference in San Francisco, California that she is holding on to optimistic expectations the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 (DPBO), which Baldwin sponsored, will reach the House floor this year. If enacted, the bill would provide benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Baldwin also stated she expects The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity will be passed as well.

In regards to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the military’s ban on service members serving as openly gay, she expects that will reach the house sometime next fall, and feels it will be attached to the military’s 2011 spending bill.

All three pieces of legislation is expected to gain the approval of the House of Representatives, which is considered more liberal than the Senate, but it’s also expected the bills will face tougher obstacles in the Senate, where Democrats hold a small majority.

Baldwin stated at the conference:

“I’m hopeful we will see those three pieces of legislation make it all the way, or damn close.”

The Leadership Conference was sponsored by The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a group that promotes the election of openly gay men and women into public offices.

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