Closing a Loophole to Help Same-Sex Couples Share Benefits After Marriage (H.R. 2025)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 2025?
(Updated May 6, 2020)
This bill seeks to ensure that same-sex married couples have the same access to Medicare and Social Security as heterosexual married couples by making amendments to the Social Security Act.
Under the Social Security Act, couples have to be married for nine months before they can receive each others’ Social Security benefits — twelve months if the spouse trying to receive the others’ benefits is retired. This bill would remove discriminatory language in the act, to allow same-sex couples to count their time in a domestic partnership (if they were not allowed to marry in their state) towards the time necessary to receive benefits. That is to say, if you and your partner had been in a domestic partnership for six months when gay marriage became legal in your state, and you got married right away, you would only have to wait for three months to start getting each others’ Social Security Benefits.
The bill would also require The Social Security Administration to put together a publicity campaign to let people know about these changes.
Argument in favor
Though gay couples have been given the right to marry in many states, they still haven’t been receiving benefits in the same way as heterosexual couples. This bill would make sure that they do. It’s only fair.
Argument opposed
Heterosexual couples in domestic partnerships don't get to cut the line to share benefits when they get married — it's only fair that same-sex couples wait it out like everyone else.
Impact
Same sex couples in states where marriage is legal, their insurance providers and plans, employers who offer health insurance, and the Social Security Administration.
Cost of H.R. 2025
A CBO estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In Depth: The actual text of this bill hasn’t been sent to Congress. Thus, while we have a pretty good idea of what it will do and how it will work from Sponsoring Rep. Mark Takano’s fairly detailed press release, we don’t know the specific wording, or if there will be any extra weird or surprising stuff in the bill, as there sometimes is. Stay tuned—er, logged in on your phone.
Of Note: As Rep. Takano specifies in his press release about this bill, it’s really meant as follow-up to the Supreme Court striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman. The Supreme Court found that it was in violation of the Fifth Amendment which, in addition to allowing people to avoid self-incrimination, ensures that people are not deprived of life, liberty and due process. Since then, 30 states, as well as D.C., have legalized same-sex marriage. It was already legal in seven (though same-sex marriages were obviously stopped under DOMA) and is banned in 13.
Media:
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Sponsoring Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) Press Release
- Human Rights Campaign (In Support)
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Washington Blade (Previous Bill Version)
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LGBTQ Nation (Previous Bill Version)
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NPR (Context)
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