Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, Fiscal Year 2016 -- Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, 3 weeks ago, the Senate held an important
vote on an amendment to the budget resolution, and 56 of our
colleagues, including 11 Republicans, joined me in affirming the need
for legislation to ensure that all legally married spouses, including
gay couples, have access to Social Security and VA benefits that their
families have earned.

This amendment passed with bipartisan support because it is
fundamentally about fairness.

Imagine a veteran who served his country for decades fighting for
equality and freedom around the world and he gets married in a State
that allows gay marriage. If he is permanently disabled from his
service, his spouse is eligible for veterans' spousal benefits. They
have earned these benefits. But if they move or if they drive over the
border from Florida into Georgia, for example, they lose those
benefits. The same scenario applies to our seniors and their right to
Social Security spousal benefits.

Why does this happen? Simply because the Federal right to these
benefits happens to be defined in law with respect to the State of
residence rather than the State of celebration of the marriage. In
other words, eligibility for these Federal benefits is based on where
you live, not where you were married. So we have one Federal right and
two unequal outcomes based on the person's residence. This is the
definition of unequal treatment under the law.

No one is denying that Americans earned their Social Security and
veterans' benefits regardless of whether they are gay or straight. And
since the Supreme Court's decision in the Windsor case struck down
parts of the Defense of Marriage Act, no one can deny that the Federal
Government is required to recognize all legal marriages.

For almost all Federal agencies, this went into effect right away.
Gay married couples can now file joint taxes. In legal proceedings
before the Federal Government same-sex spouses are given the same legal
rights as all other spouses. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, an
employee can now take leave to care for a same-sex spouse. These are
just a few of the ways that the Federal Government brought its policies
into line with the law.

The Social Security Administration and the VA, however, are tripped
up by an old wording in their authorizing statutes. Working together,
we can fix this. We can pass legislation to ensure that all legally
married couples receive equal treatment under the law regardless of
where they live. The amendment that the Senate voted to include in the
budget affirms the need for this legislation.

Allowing unequal treatment under the law goes against American
values, and it goes against our Constitution. Equality under Federal
laws should not end when you cross State lines. We are not debating
whether gay marriage should be legal in all 50 States. That question is
currently in front of the Supreme Court. We are debating whether a
Federal right should be afforded to all Americans regardless of where
they live.

For those who are concerned with preserving States' rights, I
understand that perspective, but we should all support fixing the
statutes governing Social Security and veterans' benefits. Fixing these
statutes does not impact State law whatsoever. In contrast, by not
fixing these statutes, the Federal Government is ignoring the laws of
States that allow gay marriage. It actually does harm to States' rights
to allow this situation to continue.

This is not an ideological proposal, and I should point out that the
Senator from Washington, Patty Murray, and the Senator from New
Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen--this was originally their idea. First,
Senator Murray provided this as a piece of legislation on the Social
Security side, and Jeanne Shaheen, likewise, presented this on the VA
side. We worked together during the so-called vote-arama to merge these
proposals into one because the same principle applies for both Federal
benefits, which is that equal protection under the law should not
depend on which of the 50 States an American citizen resides in. This
is about treating veterans, disabled Americans, and our seniors
equally, no matter where they live or what their sexual orientation may
be.

I thank the Presiding Officer.

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