II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1266 

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 

APRIL 25, 2023 

Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. COTTON, Ms. WARREN, and Ms. 

HIRONO) 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 2023’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 1266 IS

1 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF EXPIRATION ON ENTITLEMENT TO 

2 MARINE GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN DAVID 

3 FRY SCHOLARSHIP FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES. 

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

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

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

9 (3) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by para10 graph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘in paragraph 

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

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

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

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

15 (2)’’. 

16 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF ENTITLEMENT TO VETERANS 

17 DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSA18 TION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES WHO RE19 MARRY. 

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

21 States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘The remar24 riage’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 1266 IS

1 (B) in clause (i), as designated by subpara2 graph (A), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding the 

3 previous sentence’’ and inserting the following: 

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

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

6 clause: 

7 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding clause (ii), the remarriage of 

8 a surviving spouse shall not bar the furnishing of benefits 

9 under section 1311 of this title to the surviving spouse 

10 of a veteran.’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

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

13 (B) by renumbering subparagraphs (B) 

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

15 respectively. 

16 (b) RESUMPTION OF PAYMENTS TO CERTAIN INDI17 VIDUALS PREVIOUSLY DENIED DEPENDENCY AND IN18 DEMNITY COMPENSATION.—Beginning on the first day of 

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

20 Act, the Secretary shall resume payment of dependency 

21 and indemnity compensation under section 1311 of such 

22 title to each living individual who— 

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

24 (2) remarried before— 

25 (A) reaching age 55; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 1266 IS

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

2 SEC. 4. CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY FOR SURVIVOR BENEFIT 

3 PLAN FOR CERTAIN SURVIVING SPOUSES 

4 WHO REMARRY. 

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

6 is amended— 

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

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—(A) Subject to sub10 paragraph (B), an annuity’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF SURVIVORS OF MEM14 BERS WHO DIE ON ACTIVE DUTY.—The Sec15 retary may not terminate payment of an annu16 ity for a surviving spouse described in subpara17 graph (A) or (B) of section 1448(d)(1) solely 

18 because that surviving spouse remarries. In the 

19 case of a surviving spouse who remarried before 

20 reaching age 55 and before the date of the en21 actment of Love Lives On Act of 2023, the Sec22 retary shall resume payment of the annuity to 

23 that surviving spouse— 

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

25 for each month that begins on or after the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 1266 IS

1 date that is one year after such date of en2 actment; or 

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

4 of a surviving spouse who elected to trans5 fer payment of that annuity to a surviving 

6 child or children under the provisions of 

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

8 States Code, as in effect on December 31, 

9 2019.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. ACCESS TO COMMISSARY AND EXCHANGE PRIVI11 LEGES FOR REMARRIED SPOUSES. 

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

13 States Code, is amended— 

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

15 inserting the following: 

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

17 The Secretary of Defense’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘commissary and exchange 

19 privileges’’ and inserting ‘‘use commissary stores 

20 and MWR retail facilities’’; 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

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

24 The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe such regulations 

25 as may be necessary to provide that a surviving spouse 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 1266 IS

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

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

3 use commissary stores and MWR retail facilities to the 

4 same extent and on the same basis as an unremarried sur5 viving spouse of a member of the uniformed services.’’; 

6 and 

7 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

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

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

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

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

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

14 1062 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to 

15 read as follows: 

16 ‘‘§ 1062. Certain former spouses and surviving 

17 spouses’’. 

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

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

20 States Code, is amended by striking the item relat21 ing to section 1062 and inserting the following new 

22 item: 

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


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 1266 IS

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 21:41 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1266.IS S1266

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 1266 IS

1 cured by, the veteran without the fault of the 

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

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB