PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 27, 2025
Eliminating the Marriage Penalty in SSI Act or the EMPSA Act
This bill excludes a spouse's income and resources when determining eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and disregards marital status when calculating the SSI benefit amount, for an adult who has a diagnosed intellectual or developmental disability. (SSI is a federal income supplement program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled individuals with limited income and resources meet basic needs.)
People & committees
Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22] · R–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.1757 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.1757 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.1757 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.1757 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-27 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
H.R. 1757 would change Supplemental Security Income (SSI) rules for adults diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability who meet specified income and asset limits. Their benefits would use the payment rate referenced in section 1611(b)(1), whether or not they have an eligible spouse, reduced by their own countable income. For married people in this group, a spouse’s income and assets would not count when determining eligibility or payment amounts.
each individual who has attained 18 years of age, who is diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability, whose income, other than income excluded pursuant to section 1612(b), is at not more than the rate in effect for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, and whose resources, other than resources excluded pursuant to section 1613(a), are not more than the applicable amount in effect for purposes of paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection, shall be an eligible individual for purposes of this title.
(b) Amount of benefit Section 1611(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, the benefit under this title for an individual described in subsection (a)(4) of this section, whether or not the individual has an eligible spouse, shall be payable at the rate in effect for purposes of such paragraph (1), reduced by the amount of income, not excluded pursuant to section 1612(b), of the individual.
for purposes of determining eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits for an individual described in section 1611(a)(4) who is married, the income and resources of the individual is deemed to not include any income or resources of the spouse.
Section 2(a) would add an SSI eligibility rule for people age 18 or older diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability. Their countable income and resources—assets counted for eligibility—could not exceed the existing limits referenced in the proposal. Existing statutory exclusions would still apply; the proposal does not state dollar amounts.
(4) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, each individual who has attained 18 years of age, who is diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability, whose income, other than income excluded pursuant to section 1612(b), is at not more than the rate in effect for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, and whose resources, other than resources excluded pursuant to section 1613(a), are not more than the applicable amount in effect for purposes of paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection, shall be an eligible individual for purposes of this title.
Section 2(b) would require benefits for people covered by the new eligibility rule to use the rate referenced in section 1611(b)(1), whether or not they have an eligible spouse. The payment would be reduced by their own income after applying the existing statutory income exclusions.
(b) Amount of benefit Section 1611(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, the benefit under this title for an individual described in subsection (a)(4) of this section, whether or not the individual has an eligible spouse, shall be payable at the rate in effect for purposes of such paragraph (1), reduced by the amount of income, not excluded pursuant to section 1612(b), of the individual.
Section 2(c) would create an exception to the referenced spousal financial-counting rule. For a married person covered by the new eligibility rule, none of the spouse’s income or resources would be treated as the person’s own when determining SSI eligibility or the benefit amount.
(c) Income and resource deeming rules Section 1614(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, for purposes of determining eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits for an individual described in section 1611(a)(4) who is married, the income and resources of the individual is deemed to not include any income or resources of the spouse.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 27, 2025. It does not establish subsequent action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:32:47Z. 2025-02-27: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. 2025-02-27: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-27. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish attachment history or the contents of other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials. Member requests, earmark disclosures, and committee or conference materials were not supplied, limiting assessment of formal earmark status.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
A materially narrow exception is identified below. This classification describes the exception’s scope, not a judgment about its justification.
Married adults diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability who meet the proposal’s financial conditions would receive a specific exemption from counting a spouse’s income and resources toward their SSI eligibility and payment amount. This exception is part of the bill’s main marriage-related SSI policy.
each individual who has attained 18 years of age, who is diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability, whose income, other than income excluded pursuant to section 1612(b), is at not more than the rate in effect for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, and whose resources, other than resources excluded pursuant to section 1613(a), are not more than the applicable amount in effect for purposes of paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection, shall be an eligible individual for purposes of this title.
(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, for purposes of determining eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits for an individual described in section 1611(a)(4) who is married, the income and resources of the individual is deemed to not include any income or resources of the spouse.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI