Romney to speak before US panel

Governor Mitt Romney is scheduled to testify before a US Senate committee on same-sex marriage this morning, joining the Republican Party's election-year effort to advance a federal constitutional amendment that would forbid marriage among gays and lesbians.

Romney, a Republican who supports state and federal constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, will be the first speaker at this morning's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, which is titled ''Preserving Traditional Marriage: A View from the States." Senate Republicans are hoping to bring the federal amendment to a debate just weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Romney's home state.

In his testimony, Romney ''will reiterate his call for a federal marriage amendment as the most reliable way to preserve and protect the traditional definition of marriage," said his spokeswoman, Shawn Feddeman.

''He will talk about marriage and what happened in Massachusetts," said Don Stewart, communications director for US Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who is on the committee. ''The will of the people of Massachusetts and the Legislature was changed by the court, and the problem has become a federal problem now because of that. . . . Other states are in danger now."

Stewart said Romney has become ''a direct symbol of elected representatives being overruled by the courts, and he can speak directly to how that has affected his state and his constituency."

Feddeman refused to release the governor's testimony in advance, but in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal in February, Romney called a federal constitutional amendment ''the best and most reliable way to . . . preserve the institution of marriage. Sometimes we forget that the ultimate power in our democracy is not in the Supreme Court but rather in the voice of the people. And the people have the exclusive right to protect their nation and constitution from judicial overreaching."

In his testimony, Romney is expected to argue that same-sex marriage, which became legal on May 17 in Massachusetts, has ushered in an era of confusion as officials try to sort out what benefits gay and lesbian couples might be entitled to. He will argue that, even if gay marriage is confined to Massachusetts residents, some of those married couples will eventually relocate and test the limits of their rights in other states, and the issue will no longer be confined to Massachusetts. He is expected to call for a federal constitutional amendment as the only way to avoid that confusion nationally.

The Judiciary Committee had scheduled a hearing for May 18, with Romney set to testify, but the gathering was canceled. Now, the federal amendment is on a fast track again. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, has said he intended to hold a vote two weeks before the Democratic National Convention so that senators ''won't be able to waffle back and forth" on the issue, a claim Republicans have been making against US Senator and presumptive Democratic nominee John F. Kerry.

Kerry aides have blasted Frist's move as purely political. President Bush supports a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Kerry opposes a federal amendment, but has said he would back a state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage but allow gay couples to enter into civil unions.

Romney will be the first speaker at the hearing, appearing for 8 to 10 minutes, Feddeman said. After Romney's remarks, the panel will hear testimony from Representative Marilyn Musgrave, the House sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, and former congressman Bob Barr, author of the Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed into law in 1996. Barr will testify against the federal amendment, arguing that the DOMA he wrote put sufficient limits on federal benefits to same-sex couples, and that constitutional amendments should be decided upon by the states, not imposed at the federal level.

Yesterday opponents of gay marriage lauded Romney for taking a prominent role in the national debate.

''We are very pleased that the governor is taking a good stand on this initiative which we totally agree with," said Kris Mineau, who heads the Massachusetts Family Institute. ''The best solution for the nation regarding the confusion over marriage is a federal marriage amendment."

Meanwhile, as Romney is testifying on Capitol Hill this morning, a group of legislators and activists will be on Beacon Hill calling for the governor to focus on the priorities of seniors in Massachusetts. The group will accuse Romney of testifying in Washington to raise his national profile at the expense of his local constituents.

''The governor is AWOL when there is pressing business that the Commonwealth needs addressed," said Jack Boesen, executive director of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council, which has long argued for cheaper prescription drugs for seniors. ''A responsible governor would be lecturing the legislature about the need for legislation [to reduce prescription drug costs]."

Romney's critics said the governor is testifying in Washington today in service of his national ambitions.

''This is self-promotion at the national level," said Arline Isaacson, cochairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus.

Feddeman said Romney is speaking because he was invited by the committee. ''[Senators] Ted Kennedy, Orrin Hatch, and the entire Judiciary Committee invited the governor to testify, and part of the job of being governor is dealing with a wide range of issues," Feddeman said. ''I wonder if these critics would feel the same way if Governor Romney were testifying in favor of gay marriage."