Federal Benefits Equality Act
Latest action · Sep 13, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
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.
- IntroducedJul 25, 2013
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Federal Benefits Equality Act - Declares that, in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress: (1) "marriage" includes a marriage, domestic partnership, civil union, or any other similar legal union between two individuals that is recognized by a state, the District of Columbia, a territory or possession of the United States, or a federally recognized Indian tribe; and (2) "spouse" refers to either member of such a legal union. (Currently, "marriage" is defined only as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, while "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.)
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jul 31, 2013.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Jul 31, 2013 | |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Jul 31, 2013 | |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | Jul 31, 2013 | |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Jul 31, 2013 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Jul 31, 2013 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 13, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
- Jul 25, 2013Introduced in House
- Jul 25, 2013Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Families.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 25, 2013Introduced in House
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.