Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act

2019-02-06

Introduced in House

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.

The bill also amends the definitions of spouse and surviving spouse to remove the requirement that the spouse be of the opposite sex.

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