SSI removes marriage penalty for adults with disabilities
S. 73 — EMPSA · Filed by Jerry Moran (R-KS) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 13, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends Social Security's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program to stop reducing benefits for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities when they marry. Currently, SSI counts a spouse's income and resources when determining eligibility and benefit amounts, which creates a financial penalty for marriage. The bill exempts adults with these disabilities from that 'marriage penalty' by treating their spouse's income and resources as if they don't exist for SSI purposes.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative purpose is to remove a discriminatory financial barrier (the marriage penalty) that affects a specific vulnerable population. It is a targeted civil-rights measure, not a broad entitlement expansion or fiscal maneuver.
What the text implies
- Removes a long-standing implicit disincentive to marriage for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities, potentially increasing marriage rates and family formation in this population.
- May increase SSI program costs modestly, but the bill does not appropriate funds—cost will be absorbed within existing SSI budget or require separate appropriations action.
- Does not address similar marriage penalties in other means-tested programs (Medicaid, SNAP, housing assistance), so beneficiaries may still face disincentives in those programs.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities gain a concrete right—the ability to marry without automatic loss of essential income support—removing a barrier to family formation and personal autonomy. The fiscal cost to SSI is likely modest (limited to this population) and is justified by the public interest in equal dignity and life choices for people with disabilities.
Who stands to gain
- Adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities receiving SSI
Named in the bill
Social Security Administration, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, Section 1611 (SSI eligibility), Section 1612 (SSI income exclusions), Section 1613 (SSI resource limits), Section 1614 (SSI deeming rules)
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Jan 13, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 13, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $162,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 16 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Jerry Moran, the sponsor, reported $396,050 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Cure Sma — $150,000 on 2 filings
- National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities — $12,000 on 1 filing
- National Down Syndrome Congress — $0 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,816 characters) on Sep 27, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 15,316 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-27.
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