HR 6046 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2012

Introduced Jun 27, 2012 Originated House Sponsor Adam Smith D-WA

Latest action · Jul 19, 2012 Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedJun 27, 2012
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2012 - Considers a person a spouse, for purposes of military personnel policies and military and veterans' benefits, if the marriage of the individual is valid in the state in which the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place in which the marriage was entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Includes as a state the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. territories and possessions.

Cosponsors 33

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 27, 2012 to Oct 26, 2012; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-CA	Bob Filner	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-ME	Chellie Pingree	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-HI	Colleen Hanabusa	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-GA	Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-CA	Jackie Speier	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-RI	James R. Langevin	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-MA	Niki Tsongas	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-WA	Rick Larsen	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-PA	Robert A. Brady	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-NJ	Robert E. Andrews	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-CA	Susan A. Davis	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-OH	Tim Ryan	Original	Jun 27, 2012
D-CA	Barbara Lee		Jul 11, 2012
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton		Jul 11, 2012
D-CA	George Miller		Jul 11, 2012
D-CT	Joe Courtney		Jul 11, 2012
D-NY	Maurice D. Hinchey		Jul 11, 2012
D-FL	Theodore E. Deutch		Jul 11, 2012
D-CA	Fortney Pete Stark		Jul 13, 2012
D-GA	John Lewis		Jul 13, 2012
D-MA	Michael E. Capuano		Jul 13, 2012
D-MO	Russ Carnahan		Jul 13, 2012
D-CA	Sam Farr		Jul 13, 2012
D-NC	Brad Miller		Jul 17, 2012
D-NY	Gary L. Ackerman		Jul 24, 2012
D-WA	Jim McDermott		Jul 24, 2012
D-CA	Michael M. Honda		Jul 24, 2012
D-CA	Lois Capps		Sep 10, 2012
D-CA	Anna G. Eshoo		Sep 12, 2012
D-NY	Charles B. Rangel		Sep 12, 2012
D-FL	Alcee L. Hastings		Sep 21, 2012
D-CA	Judy Chu		Oct 12, 2012
D-VA	Gerald E. Connolly		Oct 26, 2012

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Armed Services Committee	Referred Jun 27, 2012
	Military Personnel Subcommittee	Referred Jul 19, 2012
House	Veterans' Affairs Committee	Referred Jun 27, 2012

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

Jul 19, 2012Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Jun 27, 2012Introduced in House
Jun 27, 2012Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: The constitutional authority on which this bill rests is the power of Congress ``to make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces'' as enumerated in Article I, section 8 of the United States Constitution and in pursuit of the Equal Protection Clause found in section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment. ____________________

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H4157.

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To amend titles 10, 32, 37, and 38 of the United States Code, to add a definition of spouse for purposes of military personnel policies and military and veteran benefits that recognizes new State definitions of spouse.
Short Titles as Introduced: Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2012

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Jun 27, 2012Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.