The League of Iowa Human & Civil Rights Agencies

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) may be outraging liberals with his opposition to the Medicare buy-in provision and public option in the Senate health-care reform bill, but his sponsorship of a key federal workplace measure showcases him as a progressive in a different arena.  The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8 to 1 on Wednesday to approve a bill that grants full domestic benefits to the partners of gay federal employees. Lieberman chairs the panel and co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Lieberman, Collins and Sens. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Paul Kirk (D-Mass.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) voted for the bill while Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) voted no. A House panel approved a similar bill at a contentious hearing last month. "I believe this legislation really is on the right side of history and supports another concept we believe in, which is equal pay for equal work," Lieberman said at the hearing.

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