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S. 598: Respect for Marriage Act of 2011

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S. 598: Respect for Marriage Act of 2011

112th Congress · introduced 2011-03-16 · Law · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 228.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2011-03-16 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 228. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Respect for Marriage Act of 2011

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Respect for Marriage Act of 2011 - Amends the Defense of Marriage Act to repeal a provision that prohibited a state, territory, possession, or Indian tribe from being required to recognize any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a same sex marriage. Amends the federal rules of construction added by such Act concerning the definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" to provide that, for purposes of any federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the state where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Removes the definition of "spouse" (currently, a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife).

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate without amendment), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Respect for Marriage Act of 2011

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate without amendment)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] · 32 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong112-s598 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112