Love Lives On Act of 2023
Latest action · Apr 16, 2024 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
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.
- IntroducedMay 24, 2023
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Love Lives On Act of 2023
This bill extends entitlement for various benefit programs and services for surviving spouses of deceased members of the Armed Forces or veterans.
First, the bill removes the expiration on a surviving spouses' entitlement to educational assistance through the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Fry Scholarship).
The bill also provides that the remarriage of a surviving spouse must not bar the furnishing of dependency and indemnity compensation to such spouse.
Next, the Department of Defense may not terminate the payment of an annuity for a surviving spouse under the Survivor Benefit Plan solely because the surviving spouse remarries.
Additionally, the bill provides commissary store and MWR retail facility (e.g., exchange store) access to surviving spouses regardless of the martial status of the spouse. Such spouses must be entitled to use such stores and facilities to the same extent and on the same basis as surviving spouses who did not remarry.
The bill expands the definition of a dependent under TRICARE to include a remarried widow or widower whose subsequent marriage has ended due to death, divorce, or annulment.
Finally, the bill modifies the definition of a surviving spouse for purposes of veterans benefits to include same sex marriages.
Cosponsors 84
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 24, 2023 to Nov 13, 2024, with 4 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | May 24, 2023 |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Original | May 24, 2023 |
| R-CA | Mike Garcia | Original | May 24, 2023 |
| R-NC | Richard Hudson | Original | May 24, 2023 |
| D-CO | Yadira Caraveo | Jun 27, 2023 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Jul 6, 2023 | |
| D-MN | Angie Craig | Jul 24, 2023 | |
| D-CO | Brittany Pettersen | Jul 24, 2023 | |
| D-MI | Daniel T. Kildee | Jul 24, 2023 | |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Aug 29, 2023 | |
| D-IL | Nikki Budzinski | Aug 29, 2023 | |
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Sep 14, 2023 | |
| D-NY | Joseph D. Morelle | Sep 14, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Sep 14, 2023 | |
| D-FL | Maxwell Frost | Sep 14, 2023 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 16, 2024Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
- Apr 16, 2024Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Apr 10, 2024Subcommittee Hearings Held
- Jun 29, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- May 24, 2023Introduced in House
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1266 | Love Lives On Act of 2023 | Identical bill | Apr 25, 2023 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 24, 2023Introduced 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.