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S5568FEDERALFederal Billfiled

High Impact

Eliminating the Marriage Penalty in SSI Act (EMPSA Act)

Original title: EMPSA Act

Record date · December 17, 2024

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Would Do

This bill prevents the federal government from reducing benefits for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities simply because they get married. It ensures that a spouse's income and resources are not counted against the individual's eligibility or benefit amount.

Why it matters

Adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities currently face a financial penalty for marriage, as their partner's income can disqualify them from essential SSI support; this bill removes that barrier to marriage for this specific population.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my spouse's income still affect my SSI benefits under this bill?

No. The bill explicitly states that for eligible individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, their spouse's income and resources will not be included in their own eligibility or benefit calculations.

Who qualifies for these protections?

The protections apply to individuals who are 18 years of age or older and have a diagnosed intellectual or developmental disability.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

Currently filed. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Committee.

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Exemption from Deeming Rules

The bill creates a specific carve-out in the Social Security Act that exempts a specific disability group from standard spousal income-deeming rules.

Social Security Act

Connected Entities

House of Representatives, Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1382(a) and 6 more

OrganizationHouse of Representatives“Bill referred to the Committee on Finance”Map →

otherSocial Security Act“The legislation amends this act”Map →

bill number42 U.S.C. 1382(a)“Section of the Social Security Act”Map →

Organization118th Congress“Congress in which the bill was introduced”Map →

dateDecember 17, December 16“Date the bill was introduced”Map →

bill numberSupplemental Security Income (SSI)“The program being amended”Map →

bill number42 U.S.C. 1382(b)“Section of the Social Security Act”Map →

OrganizationSenate“Introduced by Senators Moran and Van Hollen”Map →

bill number42 U.S.C. 1382c(f)“Section of the Social Security Act”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.congress.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance85
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz30
Current news / social attention level

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