Members of Congress, Advocates to Push for Social Security Fix to Ensure Equality for All

Press Release

Wednesday, June 25, 2014, at 3:00 pm ET, one day before the anniversary of the historic Supreme Court ruling striking down Section 3 of DOMA, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Ron Kind (D-WI) will be joined by their colleagues and advocates to highlight the need for Congressional action to ensure that all same-sex spouses receive equal treatment under the Social Security Act. Introduced by Senator Murray and Representative Kind last month, the bipartisan Social Security and Marriage Equality (SAME) Act closes the current gap and extends full Social Security benefits to legally married same-sex couples, regardless of where they live.

Eligibility for spousal benefits provided under the Social Security Act is determined by a place of residence standard. This standard has resulted in Social Security benefit applications being placed on hold for legally married same-sex spouses living in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage. Last week, the Obama administration announced they are not legally able to extend these benefits to all couples without Congressional action to change the statute. Senator Murray and Representative Kind were joined in introducing the SAME Act by Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) and Representatives Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), and Elizabeth Esty (D-CT).

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