Title: Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Improvement Act of 2019
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Improvement Act of 2019
This bill creates an allowance for a deceased veteran's or deceased service member's surviving spouse who is receiving dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) from the Department of Veterans Affairs. DIC is a monthly payment made to survivors and dependents of (1) certain veterans, and (2) service members killed while on active military duty. The bill provides a formula for calculating the monthly rate of the allowance based on the DIC amount the spouse is entitled to receive.
Payment amounts under the Survivor Benefit Plan shall not be affected by the implementation of the DIC allowance.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1047 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1047

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to create a dependency and 
   indemnity compensation allowance for surviving spouses receiving 
 dependency and indemnity compensation from the Department of Veterans 
                    Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 4, 2019

Mr. Tester (for himself, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Blumenthal) 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 create a dependency and 
   indemnity compensation allowance for surviving spouses receiving 
 dependency and indemnity compensation from the Department of Veterans 
                    Affairs, 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 ``Dependency and Indemnity 
Compensation Improvement Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION ALLOWANCE FOR SURVIVING 
              SPOUSES RECEIVING DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION 
              FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Allowance.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter II of chapter 13 of title 38, 
        United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1311 
        the following new section:
``Sec. 1311A. Dependency and indemnity compensation allowance for 
              surviving spouses
    ``A dependency and indemnity compensation allowance shall be paid 
to a surviving spouse who is entitled to receive dependency and 
indemnity compensation under section 1311(a) of this title at the 
monthly rate equal to the amount by which--
            ``(1) the amount that is 55 percent of the rate of monthly 
        compensation in effect under section 1114(j) of this title, 
        exceeds
            ``(2) the amount of dependency and indemnity compensation 
        the surviving spouse is entitled to receive under section 
        1311(a) of this title.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 13 of such title is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 1311 the following new item:

``1311A. Dependency and indemnity compensation allowance for surviving 
                            spouses.''.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in section 1311A of such title, 
as added by subsection (a)(1), shall be construed to have an effect on 
any amount of payment under section 1450 of title 10, United States 
Code.
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