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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) has joined other LGBT advocates in calling for administration action to ensure spousal veterans benefits flow to same-sex military couples across the country.

On Monday, the senior senator from New Hampshire made public a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald saying he should issue a moratorium allowing spousal benefits to flow to married same-sex couples in states that don’t recognize their unions.

“Veterans with identical service records, disability ratings, and family size living in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage are receiving less than they are entitled,” Shaheen writes. “This clear inequity not only violates the spirit of the Court’s decision in Windsor, it also offends the basic notions of equal protection.”

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, the Obama administration publicly aimed to extend federal spousal benefits to the greatest extent possible to same-sex couples regardless of their state of residence.

However, the administration determined it couldn’t afford certain spousal veterans benefits — as well as certain Social Security benefits — to same-sex couples if they live in non-marriage equality states, although the benefits are flowing to LGBT families in states where same-sex marriage is legal.

Title 38, the section of U.S. code that governs veterans benefits, looks to the state of residence, not the state of celebration, to determine whether a couple is married.

Although the administration has developed a workaround for some benefits, it still won’t afford others like ChampVA (health care for spouses of disabled veterans), higher disability compensation for disabled veterans with dependents, full access to VA home loans and many survivor benefits for widows.

Shaheen issues her call for a moratorium months before the Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on whether same-sex couples have a right to marry across the nation. A ruling in favor of gay nuptials nationwide would eliminate the problem by making the distinction of state of residence and state of celebration meaningless with respect to same-sex marriage.

In her letter, Shaheen draws on the story of Melissa Perkins-Fercha, a female service-disabled veteran who after serving five years in Iraq was forced to repay the VA for spousal benefits she received. Perkins-Fercha applied for them in her state of residence in Texas, which bans same-sex marriage.

“No one who has served our country in uniform should be denied the benefits they’ve earned because of whom they love or where they live,” Shaheen said in a statement. “The VA should immediately halt enforcing this discriminatory policy until the Supreme Court or Congress acts to end it.”

Shaheen joins other LGBT advocates, including the Human Rights Campaign, who’ve said continuing to withhold veterans benefits to same-sex couples in non-marriage equality violates the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling against DOMA.

In October, Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) wrote a letter to President Obama urging him to take administrative action ensure spousal Social Security and veterans benefits flow to married same-sex couples regardless of their state of residence.

The LGBT group Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in August seeking spousal veterans benefits for married same-sex couples in states without marriage equality on behalf of the American Military Partner Association. The case is pending before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Shaheen has introduced a bill known as the Charlie Morgan Act to legislatively fix the problem by changing the requirements for marriage recognition under Title 38.

Genevieve Billia, a VA spokesperson, said the Shaheen letter is under review.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs is in receipt of the letter from Sen. Shaheen,” Billia said. “We will respond directly to the senator’s office.”