Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act of 2015
Latest action · Jul 8, 2015 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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 8, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act of 2015
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), the Social Security Act (SSAct), and other federal laws (including provisions concerning workers' compensation, retirement benefits, disability and death benefits, insurance, inheritances, or immigration) to replace: (1) references to "wife" or "husband" with references to "spouse"; and (2) references to "husband and wife" or "husband or wife" with references to "married couple" or " married person."
For purposes of federal laws or regulations, "marriage" is defined as a legal union between two people as spouses. The bill eliminates a definition of "spouse" that refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.
Requirements concerning compensation to a surviving wife after the disability or death of a person employed at a military, air, or naval base outside the United States are revised to make surviving spouses eligible for such compensation.
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, provisions concerning the amount of leave available to a husband and wife employed by the same employer are revised to apply to a married couple employed by the same employer.
Requirements under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 that make disability and death benefits payable to the wife or widow of a miner are revised to make the benefits payable to the spouse or surviving spouse of a miner.
IRC provisions that require a divorced wife's gross income to include the income of any trust she is entitled to receive that would otherwise be includible in the gross income of her husband, or vice versa, are revised to apply to the gross income of individuals who are divorced from their spouse.
The bill revises title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the SSAct to consolidate separate provisions for a wife's insurance benefits and a husband's insurance benefits into a single standard for a spouse's insurance benefits.
Criminal penalties that currently apply to persons who threaten to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon a former President's wife or widow are revised to apply to threats made to a former President's spouse or surviving spouse.
Cosponsors 37
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 8, 2015 to May 17, 2016; 24 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-FL | Alan Grayson | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-VA | Donald S. Beyer, Jr. | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-MD | Donna F. Edwards | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-NY | Eliot L. Engel | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-CA | Mike Thompson | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-MA | Niki Tsongas | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-FL | Patrick Murphy | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-WA | Rick Larsen | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-TX | Ruben Hinojosa | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-MI | Sander M. Levin | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Original | Jul 8, 2015 |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Jul 9, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Pete Aguilar | Jul 10, 2015 | |
| D-MD | John K. Delaney | Jul 13, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Jul 13, 2015 | |
| D-CO | Jared Polis | Jul 15, 2015 | |
| D-IL | Mike Quigley | Jul 15, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Jul 15, 2015 | |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Jul 20, 2015 | |
| D-MA | Katherine M. Clark | Jul 22, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Scott H. Peters | Sep 11, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Mar 21, 2016 | |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | May 10, 2016 | |
| D-NJ | Donald Norcross | May 17, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jul 8, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 8, 2015Introduced in House
- Jul 8, 2015Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 105, July 8, 2015, page H4956.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To replace references to "wives" and "husbands" in Federal law with references to "spouses", and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues.
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Disability assistance
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Immigration status and procedures
- Marriage and family status
- Mining
- Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
- Protection of officials
- Separation, divorce, custody, support
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- Social security and elderly assistance
- Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
- Worker safety and health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 8, 2015Introduced 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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
