Protecting the Freedoms and Benefits for All Veterans Act

Bill: 113-hr-3569
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Walz, Timothy J. [D-MN-1]
Introduced: 2013-11-20
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Marriage and family status

Military personnel and dependents

Veterans' pensions and compensation
Latest action: action_date: 2013-12-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2013-11-20
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>Protecting the Freedoms and Benefits for All Veterans Act - Revises the definition of &quot;surviving spouse&quot; for purposes of veterans benefits provisions to eliminate the requirement that the person who was the spouse of a veteran at the time of the veteran's death be a person of the opposite sex. </p> <p>Considers an individual to be a &quot;spouse&quot; if: (1) the marriage is valid in the state in which it was entered into; or (2) in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, the marriage is valid in the place in which it was entered into and could have been entered into in a state, or it was valid in the place in which all parties to it resided at the time it was entered into.</p> <UL> <UL> </UL> </UL> <BR>

tv_txt: I 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3569 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 20, 2013 Mr. Walz (for himself, Mr. Hanna , Ms. Ros-Lehtinen , and Mr. Takano ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to add a definition of spouse for purposes of veteran benefits that recognizes new State definitions of spouse.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting the Freedoms and Benefits for All Veterans Act . 2. Definition of spouse for purposes of veteran benefits to reflect new State definitions of spouse (a) Spouse defined Section 101 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (3), by striking of the opposite sex ; and (2) by striking paragraph (31) and inserting the following new paragraph: (31) (A) An individual shall be considered a spouse if— (i) the marriage of the individual is valid in the State in which the marriage was entered into; or (ii) in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State— (I) if the marriage of the individual is valid in the place in which the marriage was entered into; and (II) (aa) the marriage could have been entered into in a State; or (bb) the marriage was valid in the place in which all parties to the marriage resided at the time the marriage was entered into. (B) In this paragraph, the term State has the meaning given that term in paragraph (20), except that the term also includes the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. . (b) Marriage determination Section 103(c) of such title is amended by striking according to and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting in accordance with section 101(31) of this title. .