Pappas Reintroduces Bipartisan Package to Improve Veterans’ Insurance and Veteran Survivors’ Benefits

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, introduced three bipartisan bills to improve processes at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and expand eligibility for survivors’ benefits, insurance coverage, and burial processes. These bills are the Gulf War Survivor Benefits Update Act, co-led by Congressman Rudy Yakym (IN-02), as well as the VA Insurance Improvement Act, and Veterans’ Burial Improvement Act, both co-led by Congressman James Moylan (GU-AL). 

“Service members, veterans, and their families deserve our utmost respect for the sacrifices they make for us and our country. These bipartisan bills make commonsense improvements to these programs and take a small step towards repaying the debt we owe our veterans and their families,” said Congressman Pappas. “My legislation would protect survivors' pensions for Gulf War spouses and dependents, make all veterans under the age of 81 years old eligible for VA Life Insurance, and extend burial benefits to family members who predecease their veteran family members but wish to be buried together. I will continue to advocate for these changes and further improvements to VA processes that will cut red tape and improve benefits for veterans and their families.”

Background:

The Gulf War Survivor Benefits Update Act would ensure surviving spouses of Gulf War veterans remain eligible for survivors’ pension by extending the statutory marriage delimiting date.

The VA Insurance Improvement Act would improve and update VA insurance coverage. Specifically, it would:

• Extend eligibility for VA Life Insurance (VALife) coverage for all veterans under 81 years old, regardless of service-connected disability status;
• Allow for Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) administrative expenses to be reimbursed from the VMLI program funds;
• Add Space Force to the definition of “uniformed service” for the purpose of eligibility for the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program.

The Veterans’ Burial Improvement Act would update burial standards and eligibility for service members’ families, Medal of Honor recipients, and veterans. Specifically, it would: 

• Make permanent VA’s authority to bury spouses and dependent children who predecease active duty service members;
• Authorize VA to pay a flat reimbursement rate for the transportation of a deceased veteran to a national cemetery or eligible veterans cemetery;
• Eliminate cutoff date for eligibility for VA-provided headstone, marker, or medallion for all Medal of Honor recipients;
• Authorize VA to provide group burial markers;
• Allow internment of certain individuals in cemeteries that receive plot allowance for veteran burials.