24 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY july 27-august 2, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Long expresses frustration after days stuck in the hospital. Long puts on makeup. She got an aesthetician’s license, but has been unable to land a job using those skills, with prospective employers requiring her to be on her feet for an extended period. Instead, she works as a cashier at Home Goods, a job she loves. Contreras in her Salinas district office on Oct. 10. The couple went to Gino’s for dinner (and an Old Fashioned for Long) afterward to celebrate—a partial victory in a long bureaucratic journey. But Long, who wears a butterfly tiara in her hair for the occasion, loves reasons to celebrate. The state cannot solve a federal problem, but only ask Washington to fix it. To that end, Long has also recruited U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, to her cause. When his staff first heard about her conundrum, they could not believe it was even true, but research showed it was. Panetta introduced H.R. 6405, the Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act in 2022, with a provision known as “Lori’s Law,” that would eliminate the marriage penalty for DACs. That bill stalled in committee, and never went up for a vote. An analysis prepared by the office of the chief actuary in the Social Security Administration showed “Lori’s Law” would cost an estimated $1 billion over 10 years. Thanks to various other adjustments in the bill, in total it is estimated that it would end up saving Social Security $6 billion over that same time period. By the end of July, Panetta plans to reintroduce the bill. “We are in it for the long game,” he says. “The current law can put people in a position where they are Long receives an infusion at CHOMP; Contreras is there to hold her hand in support, and makes daily trips to see her. Contreras and Long take a day to go shopping in Carmel. They enjoy running errands together, but the activity can get tiring for Long. Long and Contreras meet with U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta in his Monterey district office. In addition to fighting for the right to get married, Long is also an advocate for reforms related to pain management. Growing restrictions on opioids have created challenges in her day-to-day life. Contreras helps Long out of the car after a stay in the hospital. They are relieved to be home; he calls her a “social butterfly” who wants to be out and about.
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