Title: Veterans' Disability Compensation Automatic COLA Act of 2019
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Veterans' Disability Compensation Automatic COLA Act of 2019
This bill provides that whenever there is a cost-of-living increase in benefits for Social Security recipients, the Department of Veterans Affairs shall increase by the same percentage the amounts payable for veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 408 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 408

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for annual cost-of-
  living adjustments to be made automatically by law each year in the 
 rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected 
disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for 
survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 7, 2019

   Mr. Thune introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for annual cost-of-
  living adjustments to be made automatically by law each year in the 
 rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected 
disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for 
survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Disability Compensation 
Automatic COLA Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC ANNUAL INCREASE IN RATES OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION 
              AND DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION.

    (a) Indexing to Social Security Increases.--Section 5312 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d);
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c)(1) Whenever there is an increase in benefit amounts payable 
under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) as a 
result of a determination made under section 215(i) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 415(i)), the Secretary shall, effective on the date of such 
increase in benefit amounts, increase the dollar amounts in effect for 
the payment of disability compensation and dependency and indemnity 
compensation by the Secretary, as specified in paragraph (2), as such 
amounts were in effect immediately before the date of such increase in 
benefit amounts payable under title II of the Social Security Act, by 
the same percentage as the percentage by which such benefit amounts are 
increased.
    ``(2) The dollar amounts to be increased pursuant to paragraph (1) 
are the following:
            ``(A) Disability compensation.--Each of the dollar amounts 
        in effect under section 1114 of this title.
            ``(B) Additional compensation for dependents.--Each of the 
        dollar amounts in effect under section 1115(1) of this title.
            ``(C) Clothing allowance.--The dollar amount in effect 
        under section 1162 of this title.
            ``(D) New dic rates.--Each of the dollar amounts in effect 
        under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 1311(a) of this title.
            ``(E) Old dic rates.--Each of the dollar amounts in effect 
        under section 1311(a)(3) of this title.
            ``(F) Additional dic for surviving spouses with minor 
        children.--The dollar amount in effect under section 1311(b) of 
        this title.
            ``(G) Additional dic for disability.--Each of the dollar 
        amounts in effect under subsections (c) and (d) of section 1311 
        of this title.
            ``(H) DIC for dependent children.--Each of the dollar 
        amounts in effect under sections 1313(a) and 1314 of this 
        title.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end of subsection (d), as redesignated 
        by paragraph (1), the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) Whenever there is an increase under subsection (c)(1) in 
amounts in effect for the payment of disability compensation and 
dependency and indemnity compensation, the Secretary shall publish such 
amounts, as increased pursuant to such subsection, in the Federal 
Register at the same time as the material required by section 
215(i)(2)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)(2)(D)) is 
published by reason of a determination under section 215(i) of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 415(i)).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (c) of section 5312 of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall 
take effect on the first day of the first calendar year that begins 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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