Title: Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

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.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2421 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2421

 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2017

  Ms. Titus (for herself, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Curbelo of Florida, Ms. 
   DelBene, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. 
Norton, Mr. O'Rourke, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Takano, Mr. Walz, Mr. Swalwell 
 of California, Mr. Rush, Ms. Tsongas, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. 
   Pingree, Mr. Coffman, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Perlmutter, and Mr. Peters) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SPOUSE FOR PURPOSES OF VETERAN BENEFITS TO 
              REFLECT NEW STATE DEFINITIONS OF SPOUSE.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 101 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``of the opposite sex''; 
        and
            (2) in paragraph (31), by striking ``of the opposite sex 
        who is a wife or husband'' and inserting ``in a marriage 
        recognized under section 103 of this title''.
    (b) Determination.--Subsection (c) of section 103 of such title is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(c)(1) For the purposes of all laws administered by the 
Secretary, the Secretary shall recognize a marriage based on the law of 
the State where the marriage occurred. In the case of a marriage that 
occurred outside a State, the Secretary shall recognize the marriage if 
the marriage was lawful in the place where it occurred and could have 
been entered into under the laws of any State. Except in the case of a 
purported marriage deemed valid under subsection (a), the Secretary may 
not recognize more than one marriage for any person at the same time.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the term `State' has the meaning given 
that the term in section 101(20) of this title, except that such term 
also includes the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.''.
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