May 8, 2008

Baldwin Presses Rice on “Unsatisfactory Response” Regarding State Dept. LGBT Policies

May 7, 2008 — Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has again challenged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to act through her leadership as Secretary of the Department of State to eliminate inequities facing gay and lesbian State Department employees. Baldwin was reacting to “an unsatisfactory response” from an Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs to an earlier letter to Rice.

On Thursday, February 21, Rep. Baldwin, joined by Howard Berman (D-CA), Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) wrote to Rice:

“We have followed with great interest and concern the media coverage of the workplace inequities facing gays and lesbians in the U.S. Department of State… We write to highlight basic and common-sense policy changes” including the following changes in State Department policy regarding Foreign Service Officers (FSOs):

• Inclusion in travel orders for same-sex domestic partners of FSOs

• Access to training, including language and security classes, for same-sex domestic partners of FSOs

• Emergency evacuation and medevac from post when necessary for same-sex domestic partners of FSOs.

• Access to post health units for same-sex domestic partners of FSOs

• Visa support for same-sex domestic partners accompanying FSOs to overseas postings, and for same-sex foreign-born domestic partners accompanying FSOs to postings in Washington or elsewhere in the U.S.

• Preferential status for employment at post comparable to that enjoyed by Eligible Family Members for same-sex domestic partners of FSOs.

In a response to that letter, dated April 17, 2008, Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, Jeffrey Bergner, replied to Congresswoman Baldwin that the State Department treats “same-sex and opposite sex unmarried partners of U.S. Government employees stationed abroad in an equivalent manner.” As examples, Bergner cited, among other things, helping the unmarried partners of employees overseas obtain residency permits and including them in the Mission phone book.

In her follow-up letter to Rice sent today, Baldwin, joined again by Reps. Berman, Ackerman, and Ros-Lehtinen, stressed that they were seeking comparable benefits, protections, and services for the partners of gay and lesbian employees as those enjoyed by family members of married FSOs. Of vital concern to all Americans living abroad in service of their country are partner-related security issues, such as health services and evacuation assistance.

Baldwin and her colleagues stressed that they are looking to Secretary Rice for her “personal leadership on this issue, in the interest of mission effectiveness, workplace equity, and fairness for those who sacrifice so much for our country.”