Kerry Eleved live-tweeted the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee mark up of S. 1102, the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 (DPBO). Apparently, the Office of Personnel Management owes the Committee a cost offset, of which the Committee's Chair, Joe Lieberman said, "We will not move (this bill) on the floor of the Senate until we get that offset." More on this issue from Kerry's report in the Advocate:
Senator Collins was particularly displeased with not having the OPM recommendations in time for the committee vote.And, we all know how important the deficit is to Joe Lieberman (witness health care reform.)
“I'm very disappointed that two months after our hearing that OPM has yet to bring to us the offsetting savings that will compensate for the initial cost of this bill,” she said.
Following the hearing, Lieberman told The Advocate that OPM has made cost savings proposals, but the Office of Management and Budget has yet to approve them.
“John Berry is very confident that they can find this money,” he said, “but they just couldn’t get a sign off early enough, and I think that will really help us on the floor so that the bill is deficit neutral.”
HRC's Backstory has the vote breakdown:
The bill, as amended, was then put to a final vote by roll call, where it passed 8-1. Of the Senators present, Chairman Lieberman, Ranking Member Collins and Sens. Akaka, D-Hawaii, Burris, Carper, D-Del., Kirk D-Mass., McCaskill D-Mo., and Tester, D-Mont., voted for the bill and Sen. Bennett, R-Utah, voted against it. A number of other members of the committee voted by proxy, with all other Republicans including Coburn, R-Okla., McCain, R-Ariz., Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Graham, R-S.C., voting against the bill (except Sen. Ensign, R-Nev., who did not provide instructions for his proxy vote) and all other Democrats [Landrieu D-LA and Levin D-MI] voting for it, except Sen. Pryor, D-Ark., who voted against via proxy.So, if everyone on the committee actually voted, the tally would have been 10 - 7.
We're a little surprised that Lindsey Graham voted no. He may want to settle down some day.
