Pappas’s Legislation to Increase Pension for Medal of Honor Recipients Signed into Law

Congressman Chris Pappas’s (NH-01) bipartisan Medal of Honor Act, legislation to increase the monthly pension for Medal of Honor recipients, was signed into law. This legislation would increase the monthly pension for recipients to $67,500 annually. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration bestowed by the United States. There are 61 living Medal of Honor recipients.

“The Medal of Honor is our nation’s highest military decoration, symbolizing the valor the distinguished men and women of our military displayed in extraordinary moments. Our responsibility as Americans is to ensure that all our service members and veterans are honored both during and after their service, and one way we will do that is by ensuring all of our Medal of Honor recipients are financially secure after their military service is over,” said Congressman Pappas. “I worked across the aisle to get this legislation passed and signed into law, and I will always work to ensure we keep our promise to our service members and veterans.”

Background:

The first Medal of Honor was given in 1863 to Army Private Jacob Parrott. Since then, there have been 3,536 Medal of Honor recipients, with 61 currently living. In 1916, Congress created a special pension for recipients of $10 per month for life. In 1961, Congress raised the monthly payment from $10 to $100. The last congressional pension raise was in 2002 when the pension was raised to $1,000 per month. The current Medal of Honor pension was set at $1,406.73 per month, without cost-of-living adjustments. This bill provided the first congressional pension raise for Medal of Honor Recipients since 2002.

In January 2025, Pappas reintroduced the bipartisan Medal of Honor Act. Following him speaking on the floor in support of legislation, the bill passed the House in February 2025.