Whereas, on June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court held in Windsor v. United States that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally deprived same-sex couples of the liberty protected by the Fifth Amendment; Whereas pursuant to the Windsor ruling, same-sex couples cannot be deprived of Federal benefits and protections provided by the Government to married couples in a wide array of areas; Whereas Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg recognized that Federal marital benefits affect every area of life, and that denying them to married same-sex couples created, in effect, a sort of skim milk marriage ; Whereas married same-sex couples have accessed and relied upon these equal benefits, including some funded generally by all program participants, such as Social Security survivor benefits, and many that can provide an essential economic lifeline, such as retirement benefits and veteran and military benefits, as well as inheritance benefits and other Federal tax benefits; Whereas, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges that States may not deprive same-sex couples of the constitutionally protected freedom to marry; Whereas the Supreme Court confirmed in Obergefell v. Hodges that the Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that allows persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity ; Whereas, on June 27, 2017, the Supreme Court confirmed in Pavan v. Smith that it is unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the benefits and responsibilities of marriage that are provided to different-sex couples; Whereas the Census Bureau has estimated there are approximately 543,000 same-sex married-couple households in the United States and almost 500,000 households with same-sex unmarried partners living together; Whereas there are an estimated 114,000 same-sex couples raising children in the United States; Whereas same-sex couples are seven times more likely than different-sex couples to be raising an adopted or foster child