Bush Issues Veto Threat for D.C. Appropriations Bill Over Domestic Partner Registry
For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
BUSH ISSUES VETO THREAT FOR D.C. APPROPRIATIONS BILL OVER DOMESTIC PARTNER REGISTRY
‘With his popularity at an all-time low, this president has yet again dipped his cup into the well of anti-gay bigotry,’ said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.
WASHINGTON — In what has become a typical political maneuver, President Bush, with approval ratings at an all-time low, has issued a veto threat of the Washington, D.C., appropriations bill because it allows for residents to register as domestic partners. The domestic partner registry in the District of Columbia includes such basic rights as hospital and nursing home visitations, medical decisions and inheritance rights.
“With his popularity at an all-time low, this president has yet again dipped his cup into the well of anti-gay bigotry,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “He has issued a veto threat on funding for the District of Columbia because long-term, committed couples want to have such basic rights as visiting each other in the hospital and making medical decisions for their partner. The anti-gay zeal of this administration has reached a new low.”
Read the complete Statement of Administration Policy.
The portion relating to the District of Columbia appropriations bill is below.
District of Columbia:
The administration supports the bill’s full funding of the president’s request for the school improvement program, the resident tuition support program and the Water and Sewer Authority. The administration also supports the provision of needed funds for D.C. library improvements and reducing the backlog of unsolved murder cases in the district.
The administration strongly opposes the bill’s exclusion of a longstanding provision that disallows the use of federal funds to register unmarried, cohabitating couples in the district, to enable them to qualify for benefits on the same basis as legally married couples. Under federal law, legal marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Federal tax dollars are not used to extend employment benefits to domestic partners of federal employees, and D.C. should not enjoy an exception to this rule. If the final version of H.R. 2829 does not include this longstanding provision, the president’s senior advisors would recommend he veto the bill.
The administration also strongly opposes lifting the ban on funding for needle distribution programs to illegal drug users in the District of Columbia. Needle distribution programs facilitate illegal drug use. Drug use prevention and treatment programs are superior public health alternatives because these programs reduce both the sharing of contaminated needles and the harms of illegal drug use.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
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