Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act
Latest action · May 11, 2017 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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.
- IntroducedMay 11, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act
This bill amends the definition of "spouse" for purposes of veterans' benefits to require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recognize a marriage based on the law of the state where the marriage occurred.
When a marriage occurs outside a state, the VA shall recognize it if the marriage is lawful in the place where it occurs and could have been entered into under the laws of any state.
Cosponsors 39
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 11, 2017 to Jul 31, 2018; 20 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| R-FL | Carlos Curbelo | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-MA | Katherine M. Clark | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-PA | Matt Cartwright | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| R-CO | Mike Coffman | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-MA | Niki Tsongas | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-NY | Nita M. Lowey | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-IL | Robin L. Kelly | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-CA | Scott H. Peters | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| D-MN | Timothy J. Walz | Original | May 11, 2017 |
| R-PA | Charles W. Dent | May 17, 2017 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Dingell | May 17, 2017 | |
| D-CT | Elizabeth H. Esty | May 17, 2017 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | May 17, 2017 | |
| D-WA | Denny Heck | Jun 8, 2017 | |
| D-CO | Jared Polis | Jun 8, 2017 | |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Jun 8, 2017 | |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Jun 15, 2017 | |
| D-AZ | Tom O'Halleran | Jun 15, 2017 | |
| D-NY | Sean Patrick Maloney | Sep 5, 2017 | |
| D-TX | Al Green | Nov 1, 2017 | |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Dec 1, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Raul Ruiz | Dec 7, 2017 | |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Feb 7, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Mar 5, 2018 | |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Jun 5, 2018 | |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Jul 17, 2018 | |
| D-AZ | Ruben Gallego | Jul 23, 2018 | |
| D-NH | Carol Shea-Porter | Jul 31, 2018 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred May 11, 2017 |
| Economic Opportunity Subcommittee | Referred May 11, 2017 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 11, 2017Introduced in House
- May 11, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
- May 11, 2017Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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. 163, no. 82, May 11, 2017, page H4190.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 1030 | Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act | Reintroduced Bill | Oct 22, 2019 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to amend the definition of the term "spouse" to recognize new State definitions of such term for the purpose of the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 11, 2017Introduced 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.
