{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=6520", "Lawler Introduces Legislation to Update Tax Code for Widows and Widowers", "2026-09-25", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Michael Lawler", "L000599", "lawler.house.gov", "lawler", "https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 9/25/26\u2026 This week, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) introduced the Tax Relief for Surviving Spouses Act, legislation that would update the federal tax code so widows or widowers can claim surviving spouse status for up to two years after their spouse\u2019s death, regardless of whether they have a dependent child.\n\nUnder Internal Revenue Code Section 2(a), only surviving\u2011spouse filing status requires that the widow or widower have a dependent child, which does not always reflect in modern household structures. Many married couples have no children, adult children, or children who are no longer dependents, yet the financial disruption of losing a spouse is the same.\n\n\u201cLosing a spouse is an unimaginable loss, and I believe we should be doing everything we can to make the aftermath of a tragedy as manageable as possible for the American people. This small, targeted fix will deliver meaningful relief that eliminates an arbitrary distinction which has no connection to the financial need of a widow or widower,\u201d said Congressman Mike Lawler.", 1, "2026-09-26T09:43:57Z", "2026-09-26T09:44:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=6520"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0698181577026844, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}