[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 34 (Thursday, March 4, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E335]]



        THE NONDISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THOMAS E. PETRI

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 4, 1999

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Nondiscrimination 
in Employee Benefits Act of 1999. This legislation will require that 
employers offering benefits to associates of their employees who are 
not spouses or dependents of those employees not discriminate on the 
basis of the nature of the relationship between the employee and the 
designated associates.
  For many years health and other benefits provided by employers were 
available only to the employee and his or her spouse and children. 
Today, more and more employers are permitting unmarried employees to 
designate someone else for similar coverage, but only if the employee 
and the other person declare that they are in a homosexual 
relationship. This is done in the name of nondiscrimination and 
homosexual rights. However, in too many cases these policies themselves 
discriminate, even against some family members. In one case involving 
constituents of mine, the employee has her mother living with her. Her 
employer-provided health insurance will not allow coverage of her 
mother; however if they were unrelated and declared that the 
relationship was romantic in nature, her company's policy would allow 
coverage. This is clearly unfair. Why should we, in this manner, set 
homosexual relationships above all other relationships between 
unmarried individuals? Mr. Speaker, my bill simply requires that if a 
company allows an employee to choose someone to receive such benefits, 
the choice must be open to all equally. I ask that a copy of the bill 
be included in the Record.

                                H.R. --

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

       This Act may be cited as the ``Nondiscrimination in 
     Employee Benefits Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 2 NONDISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.

       Section 510 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
     of 1974 is amended by inserting before the last sentence the 
     following: ``In a case in which an employer elects to offer 
     benefits to associates of its employees who are not spouses 
     or dependents of the employees, the employer shall offer such 
     benefits on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to the 
     nature of the relationship between the employee and the 
     designated associate.''.

     

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