House leadership contract with King & Spalding on DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) defense saddles taxpayers with $500,000 bill.
In order to defend discrimination by any means necessary, House Republican leaders have contracted with the law firm King & Spalding at the rate of $520 an hour to argue that they’re right to deny recognition to legally married couples, according to the contract made public today. The document caps the cost at $500,000 but can easily be increased upon further negotiations with the firm.
“DOMA inflicts a great cost on same-sex couples but now its defense is burdening taxpayers to the tune of $520 per hour,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “The firm of King & Spalding and their attorney Paul Clement should be ashamed at every penny earned in trying to justify discrimination against American families.”
There are currently at least nine cases challenging the constitutionality of section 3 of DOMA which bars federal recognition of marriages between same-sex couples. If the House were to intervene in all nine that would mean less than 100 billable hours would be spent per case in order to hit the $500,000 cap.
“Clearly this fee cap is a lowball estimate that hides the true cost of that House’s intervention,” said Solmonese. “But the fact that Speaker Boehner has hired such high-priced attorneys clearly shows he’s willing to pull out all the stops to ensure second-class citizenship for same-sex couples.”
Contact your representative today and tell them that you don't want your tax dollars to go to support discrimination. With trillions of dollars of national debt, shouldn't we be focusing on the real issues that face our nation? Click here to send a letter to your representative: repealdomanow.org
This move by the House is very frustrating for me. I pay taxes like every other American, but my tax dollars are used to discriminate against me. Legislated discrimination is unacceptable in any form, and needs to stop now!
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