Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs

To advance policy priorities that will break the gridlock.

Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 319.

Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act

Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act This bill establishes procedures for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue a pension that was due but unpaid at the time of a veteran’s death. Specifically, if the VA issues a decision awarding entitlement to a pension to a veteran prior to the veteran’s death but issues the payment after the veteran dies, the pension must be paid to the first available recipient on the following list: (1) the veteran’s living spouse; (2) the veteran’s living children; (3) the veteran’s living dependent parents; or (4) the estate of the veteran, unless the estate will escheat (i.e., transfer to the state). To be eligible for such pension payments, a claimant of accrued benefits must file an application within one year after the veteran's death. If no application for accrued benefits is filed within one year following the death of the veteran, the pension must be paid to the veteran’s estate unless the estate will escheat.

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025

Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025 This bill requires the Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals to prioritize individuals with three or more years of legal professional experience in relevant legal areas when recommending individuals to the Department of Veterans Affairs to serve as members of the Board.

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025

Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to distribute a payment of $25,000 to U.S. merchant marines who engaged in qualified service during World War II. To be eligible, an individual must apply for the benefit and must not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. The bill sets forth what constitutes qualified service, including time frame of service and licensing requirements.

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act of 2025

Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act of 2025 This act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to periodically review and report on the maximum coverage available under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance programs. Specifically, the VA must review such coverage amount every five years, taking into account the average percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased in the five fiscal years preceding the review.

Became Public Law No: 119-54.

Ensuring Veterans’ Final Resting Place Act of 2025

Ensuring Veterans’ Final Resting Place Act of 2025 This bill provides that the provision of an urn or commemorative plaque does not prohibit an individual from receiving a headstone or marker or other burial benefits (i.e., interment at a national cemetery) from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Under current law, individuals who request an urn or plaque do so in lieu of being furnished a headstone or burial benefit.

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 295.

Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2025

Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2025 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and implement a two-year pilot program to furnish, when requested, an appropriate headstone or burial marker to commemorate covered veterans. Covered veterans are veterans who died on or before November 1, 1990, and were released or discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable. Currently, these benefits are only available to eligible veterans who died on or after November 1, 1990. The bill requires the VA to update the National Cemetery Administration website with respect to the requirements for eligibility for a headstone or burial marker.

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act

Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to assess the forms that the VA sends to claimants. The center must submit a written assessment to the VA that includes recommendations on how the VA may make the forms clearer and more organized. The VA must implement certain recommendations in the assessment within two years after the assessment is received.

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.