HR 2025 · 114th Congress 2015–2017, ended

Social Security and Medicare Parity Act of 2015

Latest action · May 12, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.

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.

  1. IntroducedApr 23, 2015
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Social Security and Medicare Parity Act of 2015

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act with respect to the determination of a valid marriage to account for marriages in jurisdictions other than a state.

Authorizes the courts of any state to find that an OASDI benefit applicant and an insured individual were validly married in a jurisdiction other than a state at the time the applicant files a benefit application or, if the insured individual is dead, at the time the individual died.

Waives the nine-month marriage requirement to make eligible for widow or widower benefits certain widows or widowers whose marriage to a deceased individual would not have been treated as a marriage for federal law purposes before June 26, 2013. Waives the same requirement for anyone who became a stepchild of the deceased individual as a result of such a marriage.

Waives the one-year marriage requirement to make eligible for husband's or wife's OASDI benefits certain husbands and wives whose marriage to an individual would not have been treated as a marriage for federal law purposes before June 26, 2013. Waives the same requirement for anyone who became a stepchild of the individual as a result of such a marriage.

Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to conduct a comprehensive and effective three-year outreach campaign to encourage benefit applications by individuals newly eligible for OASDI benefits as a result of changes in law relating to same-sex marriage and occurring on or after June 26, 2013.

Cosponsors 56

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 23, 2015 to Sep 30, 2015; 21 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-CAAlan S. LowenthalOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CABarbara LeeOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-MEChellie PingreeOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CTElizabeth H. EstyOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-FLFrederica S. WilsonOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CAJackie SpeierOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-COJared PolisOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-WAJim McDermottOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-MIJohn Conyers, Jr.OriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CAJohn GaramendiOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-GAJohn LewisOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CAJuan VargasOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-MAKatherine M. ClarkOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-FLLois FrankelOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CALucille Roybal-AllardOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-WIMark PocanOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CAMike ThompsonOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-WIRon KindOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-MISander M. LevinOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CAScott H. PetersOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CASusan A. DavisOriginalApr 23, 2015
D-CAAdam B. SchiffApr 28, 2015
D-NYBrian HigginsApr 28, 2015
D-CADoris O. MatsuiApr 28, 2015
D-MAJames P. McGovernApr 28, 2015
D-CAJanice HahnApr 28, 2015
D-FLPatrick MurphyApr 28, 2015
D-FLTheodore E. DeutchApr 28, 2015
D-CAXavier BecerraApr 28, 2015
D-CAEric SwalwellApr 29, 2015
D-NYJerrold NadlerApr 30, 2015
D-MNKeith EllisonApr 30, 2015
D-CATed LieuApr 30, 2015
D-CATony CárdenasApr 30, 2015
D-MNBetty McCollumMay 12, 2015
D-ILBobby L. RushMay 12, 2015
D-NYCharles B. RangelMay 12, 2015
D-MDChris Van HollenMay 12, 2015
D-KYJohn A. YarmuthMay 12, 2015
D-NYLouise McIntosh SlaughterMay 12, 2015
D-CARaul RuizMay 12, 2015
D-CAMichael M. HondaMay 13, 2015
D-CASam FarrMay 13, 2015
D-FLAlcee L. HastingsMay 14, 2015
D-CALois CappsMay 14, 2015
D-OREarl BlumenauerMay 18, 2015
D-AZRaúl M. GrijalvaMay 20, 2015
D-NYJose E. SerranoMay 21, 2015
D-PAChaka FattahMay 22, 2015
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonMay 22, 2015
D-NYSean Patrick MaloneyJun 1, 2015
D-ILMike QuigleyJun 2, 2015
D-ORPeter A. DeFazioJun 9, 2015
D-NYJoseph CrowleyJul 22, 2015
D-CAMark DeSaulnierJul 27, 2015
D-ILJanice D. SchakowskySep 30, 2015

Committees 1

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

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseWays and Means Committee
Referred Apr 23, 2015
Health Subcommittee
Referred May 12, 2015
Social Security Subcommittee
Referred May 12, 2015

Actions 4

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. May 12, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  2. May 12, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.
  3. Apr 23, 2015Introduced in House
  4. Apr 23, 2015Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

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: Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 60, April 23, 2015, page H2466.

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 753Social Security and Marriage Equality ActRelated billMar 17, 2015
HR 1404Social Security and Marriage Equality ActRelated billMar 27, 2015

Titles 2

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

Official Title as Introduced
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for equal treatment of individuals in same-sex marriages, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
Social Security and Medicare Parity Act of 2015

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Social Welfare.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Apr 23, 2015Introduced 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.