II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4841 

To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and 

services for surviving spouses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 

Mr. WARNOCK (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve 

benefits and services for surviving spouses, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Love Lives On Act 

5 of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF EXPIRATION ON ENTITLEMENT TO 

7 MARINE GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN DAVID 

8 FRY SCHOLARSHIP FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES. 

9 Section 3311(f) of title 38, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

2 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

3 (5) as paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively; 

4 (3) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by para5 graph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘in paragraph 

6 (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraph (3)’’; and 

7 (4) in paragraph (3)(A), as redesignated by 

8 paragraph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘under 

9 paragraph (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘under paragraph 

10 (2)’’. 

11 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF ENTITLEMENT TO VETERANS 

12 DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSA13 TION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES WHO RE14 MARRY. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103(d) of title 38, United 

16 States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘The remar19 riage’’; 

20 (B) in clause (i), as designated by subpara21 graph (A), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding the 

22 previous sentence’’ and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i)’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

25 clause: 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding clause (ii), the 

2 remarriage of a surviving spouse shall not 

3 bar the furnishing of benefits under section 

4 1311 of this title to the surviving spouse of 

5 a veteran.’’; and 

6 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

7 (A) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

8 (B) by renumbering subparagraphs (B) 

9 through (E) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), 

10 respectively. 

11 (b) RESUMPTION OF PAYMENTS TO CERTAIN INDI12 VIDUALS PREVIOUSLY DENIED DEPENDENCY AND IN13 DEMNITY COMPENSATION.—Beginning on the first day of 

14 the first month after the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act, the Secretary shall resume payment of dependency 

16 and indemnity compensation under section 1311 of such 

17 title to each living individual who— 

18 (1) is the surviving spouse of a veteran; and 

19 (2) remarried before— 

20 (A) reaching age 55; and 

21 (B) the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY FOR SURVIVOR BENEFIT 

2 PLAN FOR CERTAIN SURVIVING SPOUSES 

3 WHO REMARRY. 

4 Section 1450(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code, 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘An annuity’’ and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—(A) Subject to sub9 paragraph (B), an annuity’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF SURVIVORS OF MEM13 BERS WHO DIE ON ACTIVE DUTY.—The Sec14 retary may not terminate payment of an annu15 ity for a surviving spouse described in subpara16 graph (A) or (B) of section 1448(d)(1) solely 

17 because that surviving spouse remarries. In the 

18 case of a surviving spouse who remarried before 

19 reaching age 55 and before the date of the en20 actment of Love Lives On Act of 2022, the Sec21 retary shall resume payment of the annuity to 

22 that surviving spouse— 

23 ‘‘(i) except as provided by clause (ii), 

24 for each month that begins on or after the 

25 date that is one year after such date of en26 actment; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) on January 1, 2023, in the case 

2 of a surviving spouse who elected to trans3 fer payment of that annuity to a surviving 

4 child or children under the provisions of 

5 section 1448(d)(2)(B) of title 10, United 

6 States Code, as in effect on December 31, 

7 2019.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. ACCESS TO COMMISSARY AND EXCHANGE PRIVI9 LEGES FOR REMARRIED SPOUSES. 

10 (a) BENEFITS.—Section 1062 of title 10, United 

11 States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Defense’’ and 

13 inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(a) CERTAIN UNREMARRIED FORMER SPOUSES.— 

15 The Secretary of Defense’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘commissary and exchange 

17 privileges’’ and inserting ‘‘use commissary stores 

18 and MWR retail facilities’’; 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub20 section: 

21 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN REMARRIED SURVIVING SPOUSES.— 

22 The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe such regulations 

23 as may be necessary to provide that a surviving spouse 

24 of a deceased member of the armed forces, regardless of 

25 the marital status of the surviving spouse, is entitled to 


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1 use commissary stores and MWR retail facilities to the 

2 same extent and on the same basis as an unremarried sur3 viving spouse of a member of the uniformed services.’’; 

4 and 

5 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub6 section: 

7 ‘‘(c) MWR RETAIL FACILITIES DEFINED.—In this 

8 section, the term ‘MWR retail facilities’ has the meaning 

9 given that term in section 1063(e) of this title.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

11 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading of section 

12 1062 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to 

13 read as follows: 

14 ‘‘§ 1062. Certain former spouses and surviving 

15 spouses’’. 

16 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

17 at the beginning of chapter 54 of title 10, United 

18 States Code, is amended by striking the item relat19 ing to section 1062 and inserting the following new 

20 item: 

‘‘1062. Certain former spouses and surviving spouses.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF DEPENDENT UNDER 

2 TRICARE PROGRAM TO INCLUDE A REMAR3 RIED WIDOW OR WIDOWER WHOSE SUBSE4 QUENT MARRIAGE HAS ENDED. 

5 Section 1072(2) of title 10, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

8 and inserting a semicolon; 

9 (2) in subparagraph (I)(v), by striking the pe10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(J) a remarried widow or widower whose 

14 subsequent marriage has ended due to death, 

15 divorce, or annulment.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. DEFINITION OF SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR PURPOSES 

17 OF VETERANS BENEFITS. 

18 Paragraph (3) of section 101 of title 38, United 

19 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(3) The term ‘surviving spouse’ means (except 

21 for purposes of chapter 19 of this title) a person 

22 who was the spouse of a veteran at the time of the 

23 veteran’s death, and who lived with the veteran con24 tinuously from the date of marriage to the date of 

25 the veteran’s death (except where there was a sepa26 ration which was due to the misconduct of, or proVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Sep 15, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4841.IS S4841

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1 cured by, the veteran without the fault of the 

2 spouse) and who has not remarried.’’. 

Æ 


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