Politics

A Senate committee plans to vote Wednesday on legislation that would give partners of same-sex federal workers some key benefits, a week after President Obama endorsed marriage for same-sex couples.

The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (S. 1910) is scheduled to go before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for a vote.

It would allow same-sex domestic partners of federal workers to get retirement, health, transportation and other benefits. The bill is co-sponsored by Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), ranking members Susan Collins (R-Maine) and 21 Senate Democrats.

Is there tension between the government employees and the federal contract workers in your office?

As Joe Davidson wrote last week in the Federal Diary, some federal contractors got a 10 percent raise in April, while federal workers are in the midst of a pay-freeze.

Andrew Krzmarzick of our partner site GovLoop, put it this way on their site:

... There’s high potential for tension as government strives to monitor and manage against a Statement of Work, putting pressure on a contractor to deliver at the best possible value... Then again, sometimes it just clicks and a powerful alliance produces an outcome that exceeds what either government or a vendor could have accomplished alone.

Which is the case in your agency? Tell us for our Federal Buzz Question of the week.

You can weigh in on our Federal Buzz partner site, GovLoop, in the form below, or on Twitter using the hashtag #FedBuzz.

Sen. Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat who is among those pressing for legislation to reform the U.S. Postal Service’s finances, has launched a Web site with an eye-catching ticker aimed at pressuring House Republicans to act: It tracks the agency’s losses to the dollar.

The Web site is called “The Costs of Inaction,” a dig at the House for not bringing up for a vote its version of a bill to help the Postal Service.

As of Tuesday at 10:25 a.m. the losses were $485,844,000 and mounting. That, according to Carper, is the money the Postal Service has lost since the Senate passed its bill in April.

Federal employees who make investments in the Thrift Savings Plan by default would have those investments increased until they reach the level capturing the maximum government contribution unless they chose otherwise, under legislation offered Monday in the Senate.

The bill, introduced by Senate federal workforce subcommittee chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), would build on the automatic enrollment feature that was introduced two years ago to encourage new employees to invest through the 401(k)-style program. It would increase the default savings rate, now 3 percent of salary, by an additional 1 percent of salary in each of the first two years after hiring.

“Today’s federal workers must plan carefully to ensure their retirement security,” Akaka said in a statement. “Fortunately, the vast majority of the federal employees are responsibly saving for retirement, exhibiting average savings rates that are far greater than the private sector. However, I am concerned that the most financially vulnerable federal employees, individuals earning less than $25,000 a year, are saving at a lower rate that will hinder their ability to retire with dignity.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is marking its 150th anniversary Tuesday morning at 10:30 EST with a live webcast of a celebration marking the date at the department’s South Building in Washington.

President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation establishing the department on May 15, 1862, in the midst of the Civil War. The creation of the department was part of an enormous expansion of the federal government during the war.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will be joined by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzenzinski, co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Also participating will be Chuck Leavell, keyboardist for the Allman Brothers and the Rolling Stones, who is a Georgia tree farmer and co-founder of environmental information Web site Mother Nature Network.

Former Washington Redskins Art Monk and LaVar Arrington, who are involved in “Fuel Up to Play 60,” an in-school nutrition and physical activity program supported by USDA, will also give presentations.

The event is scheduled to last about 80 minutes.