Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act
Latest action · Feb 14, 2025 Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
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.
- IntroducedFeb 14, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act
This bill eliminates certain marriage-related criteria for individuals entitled to Social Security child’s benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Specifically, the bill removes the requirement that individuals receiving Social Security child’s benefits be unmarried. Those eligible for Social Security child’s benefits generally include the minor children of eligible or deceased workers and disabled adult children (the disabled adult children of such workers for whom the onset of disability occurred before age 22). Under current law, child beneficiaries generally lose their benefits upon marriage to an individual who is not also eligible for Social Security benefits.
With respect to SSI, the bill removes the requirement that couples who present themselves as married in their community be considered married for purposes of SSI eligibility. The bill also exempts SSI recipients who are disabled adult children, or who marry disabled adult children, from the general requirement that the income or resources of an SSI recipient’s spouse be considered in an eligibility determination.
Further, married disabled adult children and their spouses who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid in a state if they were unmarried must remain eligible for Medicaid regardless of their marriage.
Cosponsors 13
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 14, 2025 to Aug 13, 2026; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Original | Feb 14, 2025 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Feb 14, 2025 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | Feb 14, 2025 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Feb 14, 2025 |
| D-CA | Robert Garcia | Original | Feb 14, 2025 |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Original | Feb 14, 2025 |
| D-CA | Maxine Waters | Feb 25, 2025 | |
| D-AL | Terri A. Sewell | Mar 5, 2025 | |
| D-MI | Hillary J. Scholten | Apr 24, 2025 | |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | May 14, 2026 | |
| D-CA | Raul Ruiz | May 29, 2026 | |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Jun 10, 2026 | |
| D-NY | John W. Mannion | Aug 13, 2026 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2025 |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 14, 2025Introduced in House
- Feb 14, 2025Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 31, February 14, 2025, page H715.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To secure the rights and dignity of marriage for Disabled Adult Children, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Social Welfare.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 14, 2025Introduced 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.
