[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1065 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1065

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow the Commissioner 
   of Social Security reasonable discretion in applying the 10-year 
  marriage requirement for entitlement of divorced spouses to spousal 
   benefits in cases in which the divorce is in whole or in part the 
                result of severe spousal or child abuse.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 4, 2003

  Mr. Israel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow the Commissioner 
   of Social Security reasonable discretion in applying the 10-year 
  marriage requirement for entitlement of divorced spouses to spousal 
   benefits in cases in which the divorce is in whole or in part the 
                result of severe spousal or child abuse.

    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 ``Social Security Spouse Protection 
Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. DISCRETION IN APPLYING 10-YEAR MARRIAGE REQUIREMENT FOR 
              ENTITLEMENT TO SPOUSAL BENEFITS IN CASES OF SEVERE 
              SPOUSAL OR CHILD ABUSE.

    Section 216(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 416(d)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(9) The Commissioner of Social Security may reduce the period of 
marriage prior to divorce otherwise required under paragraph (1), (2), 
(4), or (5) or under subsection (b)(1)(G)(ii) or (c)(1)(G)(ii) of 
section 202 so as to adjust such required period to a lesser period 
which is reasonably proximate to 10 years, in any case in which the 
Commissioner determines that the divorce resulted, in whole or in part, 
from severe spousal abuse of the woman or man or his or her child by 
the individual and that failure to so reduce such period would defeat 
the purpose of this title or would be against equity and good 
conscience.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendment made by this Act shall apply with respect to benefits 
for months beginning on or after January 1, 1980, for which 
applications are filed on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. Notwithstanding the first sentence of section 202(j)(1) of the 
Social Security Act, an individual who, under title II of such Act as 
amended by this Act, would have been entitled to any benefit under 
subsection (b), (c), (e), (f), or (g) of section 202 of the Social 
Security Act, for any month after December 1979 and before the month 
following the month in which this Act is enacted, as a divorced wife, 
surviving divorced wife, divorced husband, or surviving divorced 
husband had such individual filed application therefor prior to the end 
of such month shall be entitled to such benefit for such month if such 
individual files application therefor prior to the end of the twelfth 
month immediately succeeding the month in which this Act is enacted.
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