Title: Surviving Families Benefit Expansion Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Surviving Families Benefit Expansion Act
This bill adjusts the amount that the Department of Veterans Affairs pays to surviving spouses and children of veterans who were rated as totally disabled for a period of less than 10 years before their death.
Additionally, the bill authorizes the furnishing of dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses who remarry after the age of 55.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8559 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8559

    To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve and to expand 
 eligibility for dependency and indemnity compensation paid to certain 
                     survivors of certain veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 9, 2020

Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. Fitzpatrick, 
    Ms. Wild, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Kilmer, and Mr. Cox of 
 California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve and to expand 
 eligibility for dependency and indemnity compensation paid to certain 
                     survivors of certain veterans.

    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 ``Surviving Families Benefit Expansion 
Act''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY 
              COMPENSATION FOR SURVIVORS OF CERTAIN VETERANS RATED 
              TOTALLY DISABLED AT TIME OF DEATH.

    Section 1318 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting 
                ``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
                Secretary''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
    ``(2) In any case in which the Secretary makes a payment under 
paragraph (1) of this subsection by reason of subsection (b)(1) of this 
section and the period of continuous rating immediately preceding death 
is less than 10 years, the amount payable under such paragraph shall be 
an amount that bears the same relationship to the amount otherwise 
payable under such paragraph as the duration of such period bears to 10 
years.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``10 or more years'' 
        and inserting ``not less than five years''.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION FOR 
              SURVIVING SPOUSES WHO REMARRY AFTER AGE 55.

    Section 103(d)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is amended in 
the second sentence by inserting ``chapter 13 or'' after ``benefits 
under''.
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