H.R. 8404: Respect for Marriage Act

Bill · 117th Congress (2021–2022). Became law, 13 Dec 2022 · Public Law 117-228. Introduced 18 Jul 2022.

Official title: To repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State regulation of marriage, and for other purposes.

Vote results

How each member voted

White House

Signed (1): Joseph Biden (D, President).

Not in office (2): Donald Trump (R, President); Mike Pence (R, Vice President).

Senate

Yea (61): Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT); Edward J. Markey (D-MA); Charles E. Schumer (D-NY); Ron Wyden (D-OR); Richard J. Durbin (D-IL); Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD); Thomas R. Carper (D-DE); Jack Reed (D-RI); Bernard Sanders (I-VT); Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Sherrod Brown (D-OH); Patty Murray (D-WA); Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Richard Burr (R-NC); Roy Blunt (R-MO); Susan M. Collins (R-ME); Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); Tammy Baldwin (D-WI); Maria Cantwell (D-WA); Rob Portman (R-OH); Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV); Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA); Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY); Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI); Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Christopher Murphy (D-CT); Jon Tester (D-MT); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Martin Heinrich (D-NM); Ben Ray Luján (D-NM); Jeff Merkley (D-OR); Gary C. Peters (D-MI); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Mark R. Warner (D-VA); Michael F. Bennet (D-CO); Christopher A. Coons (D-DE); Joe Manchin, III (D-WV); Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Todd Young (R-IN); Brian Schatz (D-HI); Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); Tim Kaine (D-VA); Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME); Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY); Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ); Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Cory A. Booker (D-NJ); Joni Ernst (R-IA); Dan Sullivan (R-AK); Thom Tillis (R-NC); Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV); Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH); Jacky Rosen (D-NV); Tina Smith (D-MN); Mitt Romney (R-UT); Mark Kelly (D-AZ); John W. Hickenlooper (D-CO); Jon Ossoff (D-GA); Alex Padilla (D-CA).

Nay (36): Chuck Grassley (R-IA); Richard C. Shelby (R-AL); Mitch McConnell (R-KY); James M. Inhofe (R-OK); Mike Crapo (R-ID); Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Roger F. Wicker (R-MS); Jerry Moran (R-KS); John Thune (R-SD); John Boozman (R-AR); John Cornyn (R-TX); Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); John Barrasso (R-WY); Bill Cassidy (R-LA); James E. Risch (R-ID); John Hoeven (R-ND); Ron Johnson (R-WI); James Lankford (R-OK); Mike Lee (R-UT); Rand Paul (R-KY); Marco Rubio (R-FL); Tim Scott (R-SC); Tom Cotton (R-AR); Kevin Cramer (R-ND); Ted Cruz (R-TX); Steve Daines (R-MT); Deb Fischer (R-NE); Mike Rounds (R-SD); John Kennedy (R-LA); Roger Marshall (R-KS); Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS); Mike Braun (R-IN); Josh Hawley (R-MO); Rick Scott (R-FL); Bill Hagerty (R-TN); Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

Not voting (3): Patrick J. Toomey (R-PA); Ben Sasse (R-NE); Raphael G. Warnock (D-GA).

Not in office (2): Kamala D. Harris (D-CA); Kelly Loeffler (R-GA).

House

Yea (258): Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5); Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9); Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR-4); Fred Upton (R-MI-6); Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12); Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6); Richard E. Neal (D-MA-1); David E. Price (D-NC-4); Jim Cooper (D-TN-5); Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT-3); Maxine Waters (D-CA-43); Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10); Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-2); Ken Calvert (R-CA-42); James E. Clyburn (D-SC-6); Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA-18); Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30); Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12); Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40); Bobby L. Rush (D-IL-1); Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-3); Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7); Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS-2); Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35); Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18); Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19); Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3); Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7); Diana DeGette (D-CO-1); Ron Kind (D-WI-3); James P. McGovern (D-MA-2); Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-9); Brad Sherman (D-CA-30); Adam Smith (D-WA-9); Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-5); Barbara Lee (D-CA-13); John B. Larson (D-CT-1); Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA-32); Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL-9); Michael K. Simpson (R-ID-2); Mike Thompson (D-CA-5); James R. Langevin (D-RI-2); Rick Larsen (D-WA-2); Betty McCollum (D-MN-4); Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-28); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA-8); Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-3); C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-2); Tim Ryan (D-OH-13); David Scott (D-GA-13); Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38); Michael R. Turner (R-OH-10); Darrell Issa (R-CA-50); Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-5); Jim Costa (D-CA-16); Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28); Al Green (D-TX-9); Brian Higgins (D-NY-26); Gwen Moore (D-WI-4); Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23); Doris O. Matsui (D-CA-6); Albio Sires (D-NJ-8); Kathy Castor (D-FL-14); Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-9); Steve Cohen (D-TN-9); Joe Courtney (D-CT-2); Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA-4); Jerry McNerney (D-CA-9); Ed Perlmutter (D-CO-7); John P. Sarbanes (D-MD-3); Peter Welch (D-VT-AL); John A. Yarmuth (D-KY-3); André Carson (D-IN-7); Jackie Speier (D-CA-14); Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA-11); James A. Himes (D-CT-4); Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1); Paul Tonko (D-NY-20); Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5); Mike Quigley (D-IL-5); Judy Chu (D-CA-27); John Garamendi (D-CA-3); Bill Foster (D-IL-11); Karen Bass (D-CA-37); David N. Cicilline (D-RI-1); Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3); William R. Keating (D-MA-9); Terri A. Sewell (D-AL-7); Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL-24); Dina Titus (D-NV-1); Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-7); Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1); Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA-1); Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ-10); Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3); Ami Bera (D-CA-7); Julia Brownley (D-CA-26); Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17); Matt Cartwright (D-PA-8); Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20); Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29); Rodney Davis (R-IL-13); Lois Frankel (D-FL-21); Jared Huffman (D-CA-2); Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY-8); David P. Joyce (R-OH-14); Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI-5); Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6); Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-2); Ann M. Kuster (D-NH-2); Alan S. Lowenthal (D-CA-47); Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18); Grace Meng (D-NY-6); Scott H. Peters (D-CA-52); Mark Pocan (D-WI-2); Tom Rice (R-SC-7); Raul Ruiz (D-CA-36); Chris Stewart (R-UT-2); Eric Swalwell (D-CA-15); Mark Takano (D-CA-41); Juan Vargas (D-CA-51); Marc A. Veasey (D-TX-33); Ann Wagner (R-MO-2); Robin L. Kelly (D-IL-2); Katherine M. Clark (D-MA-5); Alma S. Adams (D-NC-12); Donald Norcross (D-NJ-1); Pete Aguilar (D-CA-31); Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA-8); Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-2); Ed Case (D-HI-1); Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-11); Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12); Tom Emmer (R-MN-6); Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-7); John Katko (R-NY-24); Brenda L. Lawrence (D-MI-14); Ted Lieu (D-CA-33); Seth Moulton (D-MA-6); Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4); Kathleen M. Rice (D-NY-4); Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY-21); Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35); Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12); Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL-10); David G. Valadao (R-CA-21); Dwight Evans (D-PA-3); Don Bacon (R-NE-2); Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44); Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL); Anthony G. Brown (D-MD-4); Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA-24); Liz Cheney (R-WY-AL); J. Luis Correa (D-CA-46); Val Butler Demings (D-FL-10); Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13); Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1); Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8); Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-15); Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5); Steven Horsford (D-NV-4); Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7); Ro Khanna (D-CA-17); Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8); Al Lawson, Jr. (D-FL-5); Stephanie N. Murphy (D-FL-7); Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-1); Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20); Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8); Darren Soto (D-FL-9); Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY-3); Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34); John R. Curtis (R-UT-3); Conor Lamb (D-PA-17); Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY-25); Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5); Susan Wild (D-PA-7); Colin Z. Allred (D-TX-32); Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-AL); Cynthia Axne (D-IA-3); Sean Casten (D-IL-6); Angie Craig (D-MN-2); Jason Crow (D-CO-6); Sharice Davids (D-KS-3); Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4); Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16); Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-7); Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29); Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL-4); Jared F. Golden (D-ME-2); Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16); Josh Harder (D-CA-10); Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5); Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6); Andy Kim (D-NJ-3); Susie Lee (D-NV-3); Andy Levin (D-MI-9); Mike Levin (D-CA-49); Elaine G. Luria (D-VA-2); Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-7); Lucy McBath (D-GA-6); Joe Neguse (D-CO-2); Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14); Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5); Chris Pappas (D-NH-1); Dean Phillips (D-MN-3); Katie Porter (D-CA-45); Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7); Kim Schrier (D-WA-8); Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11); Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-8); Abigail Davis Spanberger (D-VA-7); Greg Stanton (D-AZ-9); Bryan Steil (R-WI-1); Haley M. Stevens (D-MI-11); Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13); Lori Trahan (D-MA-3); David J. Trone (D-MD-6); Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14); Michael Waltz (R-FL-6); Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10); Mike Garcia (R-CA-25); Chris Jacobs (R-NY-27); Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-4); Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA-7); Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16); Cori Bush (D-MO-1); Kat Cammack (R-FL-3); Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-2); Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL-26); Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23); Ashley Hinson (R-IA-1); Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53); Mondaire Jones (D-NY-17); Kaiali’i Kahele (D-HI-2); Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3); Nancy Mace (R-SC-1); Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11); Kathy E. Manning (D-NC-6); Peter Meijer (R-MI-3); Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-2); Blake D. Moore (R-UT-1); Frank J. Mrvan (D-IN-1); Marie Newman (D-IL-3); Jay Obernolte (R-CA-8); Deborah K. Ross (D-NC-2); Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10); Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15); Nikema Williams (D-GA-5); Troy A. Carter (D-LA-2); Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1); Shontel M. Brown (D-OH-11); Mike Carey (R-OH-15); Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20); Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK-AL); Patrick Ryan (D-NY-19); Michael F. Doyle (D-PA-18); G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-1).

Nay (169): Harold Rogers (R-KY-5); Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ-4); Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-3); Steve Chabot (R-OH-1); Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL-4); Kay Granger (R-TX-12); Pete Sessions (R-TX-17); Sam Graves (R-MO-6); Joe Wilson (R-SC-2); Michael C. Burgess (R-TX-26); John R. Carter (R-TX-31); Tom Cole (R-OK-4); Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25); Mike Rogers (R-AL-3); Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5); Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1); Michael T. McCaul (R-TX-10); Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC-10); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5); Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL-12); Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16); Jim Jordan (R-OH-4); Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5); Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23); Adrian Smith (R-NE-3); Robert E. Latta (R-OH-5); Robert J. Wittman (R-VA-1); Steve Scalise (R-LA-1); Tim Walberg (R-MI-7); Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2); Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-3); Tom McClintock (R-CA-4); Bill Posey (R-FL-8); Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15); Mo Brooks (R-AL-5); Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8); Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR-1); Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-4); Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3); Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (R-TN-3); Bob Gibbs (R-OH-7); Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ-4); H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9); Andy Harris (R-MD-1); Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-4); Bill Huizenga (R-MI-2); Bill Johnson (R-OH-6); Mike Kelly (R-PA-16); Billy Long (R-MO-7); David B. McKinley (R-WV-1); Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS-4); David Schweikert (R-AZ-6); Austin Scott (R-GA-8); Daniel Webster (R-FL-11); Steve Womack (R-AR-3); Mark E. Amodei (R-NV-2); Thomas Massie (R-KY-4); Andy Barr (R-KY-6); Richard Hudson (R-NC-8); Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1); Markwayne Mullin (R-OK-2); Scott Perry (R-PA-10); Randy K. Weber, Sr. (R-TX-14); Brad R. Wenstrup (R-OH-2); Roger Williams (R-TX-25); Jason Smith (R-MO-8); Rick W. Allen (R-GA-12); Brian Babin (R-TX-36); Mike Bost (R-IL-12); Ken Buck (R-CO-4); Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-1); Garret Graves (R-LA-6); Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6); Jody B. Hice (R-GA-10); J. French Hill (R-AR-2); Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11); John R. Moolenaar (R-MI-4); Alexander X. Mooney (R-WV-2); Gary J. Palmer (R-AL-6); David Rouzer (R-NC-7); Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4); Trent Kelly (R-MS-1); Darin LaHood (R-IL-18); Warren Davidson (R-OH-8); James Comer (R-KY-1); Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX-19); Jim Banks (R-IN-3); Jack Bergman (R-MI-1); Andy Biggs (R-AZ-5); Ted Budd (R-NC-13); Neal P. Dunn (R-FL-2); A. Drew Ferguson IV (R-GA-3); Matt Gaetz (R-FL-1); Clay Higgins (R-LA-3); Mike Johnson (R-LA-4); David Kustoff (R-TN-8); Brian J. Mast (R-FL-18); John H. Rutherford (R-FL-4); Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11); Ron Estes (R-KS-4); Ralph Norman (R-SC-5); Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-8); Michael Cloud (R-TX-27); Troy Balderson (R-OH-12); Kevin Hern (R-OK-1); James R. Baird (R-IN-4); Tim Burchett (R-TN-2); Ben Cline (R-VA-6); Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2); Russ Fulcher (R-ID-1); Lance Gooden (R-TX-5); Mark E. Green (R-TN-7); Michael Guest (R-MS-3); Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL); John Joyce (R-PA-13); Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9); Carol D. Miller (R-WV-3); Greg Pence (R-IN-6); Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14); John W. Rose (R-TN-6); Chip Roy (R-TX-21); Pete Stauber (R-MN-8); W. Gregory Steube (R-FL-17); Van Taylor (R-TX-3); William R. Timmons IV (R-SC-4); Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ-2); Claudia Tenney (R-NY-22); Fred Keller (R-PA-12); Dan Bishop (R-NC-9); Gregory F. Murphy (R-NC-3); Thomas P. Tiffany (R-WI-7); Cliff Bentz (R-OR-2); Stephanie I. Bice (R-OK-5); Lauren Boebert (R-CO-3); Jerry L. Carl (R-AL-1); Madison Cawthorn (R-NC-11); Andrew S. Clyde (R-GA-9); Byron Donalds (R-FL-19); Pat Fallon (R-TX-4); Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4); Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-7); Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-5); Scott Franklin (R-FL-15); Bob Good (R-VA-5); Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14); Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-1); Yvette Herrell (R-NM-2); Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13); Young Kim (R-CA-39); Jake LaTurner (R-KS-2); Tracey Mann (R-KS-1); Lisa C. McClain (R-MI-10); Mary E. Miller (R-IL-15); Barry Moore (R-AL-2); Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22); August Pfluger (R-TX-11); Matthew M. Rosendale, Sr. (R-MT-AL); Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27); Victoria Spartz (R-IN-5); Michelle Steel (R-CA-48); Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24); Julia Letlow (R-LA-5); Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6); Connie Conway (R-CA-22); Mayra Flores (R-TX-34); Mike Flood (R-NE-1); Brad Finstad (R-MN-1); Joseph Sempolinski (R-NY-23); Rudy Yakym III (R-IN-2).

Present (1): Burgess Owens (R-UT-4).

Not voting (4): Kevin Brady (R-TX-8); Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16); Lee M. Zeldin (R-NY-1); Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN-9).

Not in office (17): Don Young (R-AK-AL); Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL-20); Devin Nunes (R-CA-22); Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE-1); Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL-22); Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH-11); Tom Reed (R-NY-23); Steve Stivers (R-OH-15); Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-2); Jackie Walorski (R-IN-2); Filemon Vela (D-TX-34); A. Donald McEachin (D-VA-4); Charlie Crist (D-FL-13); Antonio Delgado (D-NY-19); Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-1); Debra A. Haaland (D-NM-1); Ron Wright (R-TX-6).

Summary

Main subject: Repeals a section of title 28, United States Code, adds a bar on denying full faith and credit to marriages between 2 individuals from other States, and rewrites the federal definition of marriage in title 1 to turn on validity under State law. Sec. 3, Sec. 4, Sec. 5

Its core areas: Federal recognition of marriages valid under State law; Full faith and credit for out-of-State marriages; Civil enforcement by the Attorney General and private persons; Religious liberty and conscience protections; Federal non-recognition of marriages between more than 2 individuals.

Unexpected Items: 1 provision

These provisions fall outside the bill’s main subject or apply narrowly. This describes the text; it is not a judgment.

Exception or delay for a subset (1)

What it does

Written automatically from the official text by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model. Written 15 Oct 2026 and published after the automatic checks, without a person reading it first. Every line names the section it came from.

Changed after House passage

Compares the bill as passed by the House, 19 Jul 2022, with the final text passed by both chambers. About 97% of the wording the House passed stands in the final text.

Removed before the final vote (0)

None.

Added after House passage (3)

Sources