Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID–19 Act of 2021
Latest action · Mar 16, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 3, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID-19 Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to get a medical opinion to determine if a service-connected disability was the principal or contributory cause of death in situations where a veteran's death certificate identifies COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) as the principal or contributory cause of death, the certificate does not clearly identify any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities as the principal or contributory cause of death, and a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation is filed with respect to the veteran.
Cosponsors 22
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 3, 2021 to May 27, 2022; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-OK | Kevin Hern | Original | Feb 3, 2021 |
| D-MA | Lori Trahan | Original | Feb 3, 2021 |
| R-NC | Ted Budd | Original | Feb 3, 2021 |
| D-HI | Kaiali'i Kahele | Feb 11, 2021 | |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Mar 2, 2021 | |
| R-WV | David B. McKinley | Mar 3, 2021 | |
| D-AZ | Tom O'Halleran | Mar 3, 2021 | |
| R-SD | Dusty Johnson | Mar 17, 2021 | |
| D-PA | Conor Lamb | Mar 29, 2021 | |
| D-NJ | Jefferson Van Drew | Mar 29, 2021 | |
| R-WA | Jaime Herrera Beutler | Apr 8, 2021 | |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | Apr 13, 2021 | |
| R-LA | Mike Johnson | Apr 20, 2021 | |
| R-TN | Scott DesJarlais | May 4, 2021 | |
| R-AZ | Debbie Lesko | Jul 9, 2021 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 3, 2021 |
| Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Mar 16, 2021 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 16, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- Feb 3, 2021Introduced in House
- Feb 3, 2021Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 20, February 3, 2021, page H324.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 89 | Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID–19 Act of 2021 | Identical bill | Jul 26, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to secure medical opinions for veterans with service-connected disabilities who die from COVID-19 to determine whether their service-connected disabilities were the principal or contributory causes of death, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID–19 Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Disability and paralysis
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Health information and medical records
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Medical tests and diagnostic methods
- Veterans' medical care
- Veterans' pensions and compensation
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 3, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
