CHICAGO – Today, Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL) issued the following statement after President Obama instructed federal agencies to provide certain benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

“I applaud and thank President Obama for making this country both more equitable and our federal government more competitive.  This action follows in the footsteps of our ongoing march toward full civil rights, living up to our ideals of fairness and justice for all Americans.

We must continue this momentum by repealing the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act so that all domestic partners in committed relationships can enjoy the same benefits – including health care –  as the rest of us.”

In his first year in Congress, Quigley has continually fought for equality for the LGBT community.  A member of the Congressional Equality Caucus, he is a co-sponsor of a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and a bill to remove all barriers to benefits for partners of federal employees.  Quigley also passed an amendment in the markup of the Domestic Partnerships Benefits Act illustrating how extending fairness and equity to all employees will in fact help the government recruit and retain talented individuals.