Caring for Survivors Act of 2025
Latest action · Mar 11, 2025 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-35.
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 18, 2025
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Caring for Survivors Act of 2025
This bill increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Dependency and indemnity compensation is a monthly payment made to eligible survivors (i.e., spouses, parents, or children) of (1) certain veterans who died as a result of a service-connected condition; (2) service members killed while on active military duty or active or inactive duty for training; or (3) veterans who did not die from a service-connected condition, but were totally disabled by a service-connected disability for a certain period of time.
The bill also (1) reduces, from 10 years to 5 years, the period of time that certain veterans must have been rated totally disabled due to a service-connected disability in order for a survivor to qualify for benefits; and (2) specifies the amount that is payable to survivors of veterans who were rated totally disabled for a period of less than 10 years before their death.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 18, 2025 to Nov 9, 2026; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Jun 3, 2025 | |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Jul 21, 2025 | |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Sep 17, 2025 | |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Sep 29, 2025 | |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Sep 30, 2025 | |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Oct 21, 2025 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Nov 9, 2026 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 18, 2025Hearings Mar 11, 2025 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 11, 2025Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-35.
- Feb 18, 2025Introduced in Senate
- Feb 18, 2025Read twice and referred to the 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.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 119-56 | EXAMINING VA BENEFITS: PENSION AND FIDUCIARY, AND VA LIFE INSURANCE OPTIONS58 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Apr 21, 2026 |
| S. Hrg. 119-317 | LEGISLATIVE PRESENTATION OF DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS AND MULTI VSOs: MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, BLUE STAR FAMILIES, VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA, NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS, SERVICE WOMEN'S ACTION NETWORK, GOLD STAR WIVES OF AMERICA, INC., BLACK VETERANS PROJECT216 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Feb 24, 2026 |
Related bills 6
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 414 | Caring for Survivors Act of 2023 | Cross-Congress related bill | Apr 26, 2023 |
| HR 680 | Caring for Survivors Act of 2025 | Identical bill | Feb 26, 2025 |
| S 976 | Caring for Survivors Act of 2021 | Cross-Congress related bill | Apr 28, 2021 |
| HR 1083 | Caring for Survivors Act of 2023 | Cross-Congress related bill | Apr 16, 2024 |
| HR 2055 | Caring for Survivors Act of 2025 | Identical bill | Jun 24, 2025 |
| HR 3402 | Caring for Survivors Act of 2021 | Cross-Congress related bill | Oct 20, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Caring for Survivors Act of 2025
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 18, 2025Introduced in Senate
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.
