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The Congressional Budget Office estimates that legislation to provide benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees would cost the government more than $300 million over the next decade, an issue that could stall efforts to pass the bill this year.

The 2009 Domestic Partnership and Obligations Act (S. 1102), which would provide benefits like health insurance, survivor annuities, compensation for work-related injuries and travel and relocation benefits for the same-sex partners of federal workers, would increase direct spending by $101 million through 2015 and $310 million through 2020, CBO found. The estimate was based on the assumption that about 0.33 percent of federal employees would choose to register a same-sex partner.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed the bill in December, while the House advanced a similar measure in November. But CBO's estimate could stall efforts to pass the bill this year, particularly as congressional Republicans and bill sponsor Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., have expressed concern over the legislation's potential cost.

In September, the Office of Personnel Management released proposed regulations that would expand the definition of "family member" to include same-sex partners when determining the use of benefits like sick leave as well as eligibility for coverage under the Federal Long Term Care Insurance program. "The proposed regulation will help agencies address the family needs of an increasingly diverse workforce and will enhance the federal government's ability to compete with the private sector for talent," OPM said.

Many of the nation's top companies, including several technology companies, provide health care and other benefits to domestic partners of employees. If concerns over the bill's price tag do impact its ability to pass this year and possibly in the future, what impact will this have on the government's ability to compete with the private sector for talent, particularly technology workers?