Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) has confirmed that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has the necessary funds to pay for her Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act.

The legislation, estimated to cost approximately $6.3 million each year, would provide same-sex partners of federal workers the same benefits available to spouses of straight workers.  These benefits would include health care and pension plans.

“We’ll be able to pay for it,” said Baldwin. “I’m confident that we will be able to offset it so that it will meet statutory pay-go requirements.”

Baldwin told reporters that she’s committed to passing the bill, but predicted ENDA would come to the House floor prior to the domestic partner bill.

DC Agenda reports:

Both the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the legislation reported out the bill late last year, but supporters have said they wouldn’t move the bill to the floor unless OPM provided information on how to pay for the legislation’s cost – an estimated $63 million each year — within the agency’s existing budget.

Baldwin said she didn’t want to offer more information publicly on how OPM found the needed funds to pay for the legislation.

“The last thing you want to do is put a pay-for out there,” she said. “Somebody else will grab it before I’m ready to take the bill to the floor because everyone wants money to pay for their bill.”