The Caring for Survivors Act is a bipartisan bill in Congress that would raise Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, the monthly payment the VA sends to surviving spouses and families of veterans who die from service-connected causes, from about 43 percent of a fully disabled veteran’s compensation to 55 percent. It would also cut in half the waiting period that lets some survivors qualify when the veteran’s death is not directly service-connected. The bill has been introduced in the 117th, 118th, and 119th Congresses and has not been enacted.1U.S. House of Representatives – Jahana Hayes. Hayes Reintroduces the Bipartisan Caring for Survivors Act
What the Bill Would Change
Two provisions do the real work.
The first is the rate. A surviving spouse’s base DIC is currently a flat $1,699.36 per month as of December 2025, roughly 43 percent of what a single veteran rated 100 percent disabled receives.2U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Survivor DIC Rates The bill lifts that share to 55 percent, an increase of about $450 per month, or roughly $5,400 per year.3Paralyzed Veterans of America. Caring for Survivors Act Fact Sheet The 55 percent figure matches the survivor annuity paid to families of federal civilian retirees under the Civil Service Retirement System.4U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Survivor Benefits FAQ
The second is eligibility. Under current law, if a veteran dies of causes not directly connected to service, a surviving spouse can still get DIC only if the veteran had been rated totally disabled for at least ten continuous years before death. The bill shortens that window to five years, and adds a proration rule: if the veteran was totally disabled for at least five years but fewer than ten, the DIC payment is scaled to the length of the disability period.6U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 2055 Bill Text
The rate change would take effect six months after enactment. Survivors of veterans who died before January 1, 1993, would receive whichever is higher: the rate they already get (which varies by the veteran’s pay grade) or the new 55 percent rate.5U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 2055 Bill Text
Who Would Be Affected and Why Supporters Say It’s Needed
Sponsors estimate that about 506,000 survivors would see a change. DIC has been paid as a flat amount since 1993, adjusted only by annual cost-of-living increases, and the bill’s supporters argue that leaves it about 12 percent behind comparable federal survivor benefits.7Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Blumenthal, Boozman Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Earned Support for Military Survivors
A 2009 Government Accountability Office review found that DIC payments were almost always lower than what survivors received under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, which covers federal workers who die from job-related causes, and that for survivors of higher-ranking service members DIC also fell below Civil Service Retirement System benefits.8U.S. Government Accountability Office. GAO-10-62 DIC Report The Independent Budget, an annual set of policy recommendations from DAV, VFW, and Paralyzed Veterans of America, recommends indexing DIC to that same 55 percent target.9Independent Budget. Benefits Recommendations
Gold Star Wives of America, which has pushed for a DIC increase for more than three decades, told Congress in February 2026 that the payment is “foundational” income for many recipients rather than a supplement, and that survivors regularly have to choose among food, heating, and medicine.10Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Gold Star Wives of America Testimony
Where the Bill Stands
Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut has introduced the bill in each of the last three Congresses, with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania as the Republican co-lead. In the Senate, Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and John Boozman of Arkansas introduced the companion bill, S. 611, on February 21, 2025.7Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Blumenthal, Boozman Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Earned Support for Military Survivors
The furthest the legislation has moved was in the 118th Congress. Hayes testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs on April 10, 2024, and a week later the subcommittee advanced the bill on a unanimous bipartisan voice vote. It did not receive a full committee vote or a floor vote before that Congress ended.11U.S. House of Representatives – Jahana Hayes. House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Advances Hayes Bill
In the 119th Congress, Hayes reintroduced the measure as H.R. 680 on January 23, 2025, followed by a second House version, H.R. 2055, on March 11, 2025. As of mid-2026, H.R. 680 sits in the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs without further action.12U.S. Congress. H.R. 680 – Caring for Survivors Act
Why It Keeps Stalling
Cost is the recurring obstacle. The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors reported that the Congressional Budget Office’s price tag on the bill grew “exponentially” after the 2022 PACT Act expanded the pool of veterans with toxic-exposure disability ratings. The VA projected that 382,000 additional survivors could become eligible for PACT-related benefits, and CBO folded that larger population into its scoring, roughly doubling the estimated cost of the DIC increase.13U.S. House of Representatives. TAPS Testimony on CBO Scoring
Related Survivor Bills
Several other measures address adjacent gaps and are easy to confuse with the Caring for Survivors Act:
- The Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act (H.R. 6047), sponsored by Rep. Tom Barrett, takes a smaller step: it raises DIC by 1 percent at the next cost-of-living adjustment and another 0.5 percent at the one after. It passed the House 235–179 on May 21, 2026, and awaits Senate action. The bill also provides roughly $10,000 a year in additional aid for catastrophically disabled veterans.14U.S. Congress. H.R. 6047 – Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act
- The Love Lives On Act (S. 410 / H.R. 1004), introduced by Senator Jerry Moran, would let surviving spouses keep their DIC and Survivor Benefit Plan payments after remarriage at any age. Current law strips those benefits from spouses who remarry before 55.15Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Hyde-Smith Cosponsors Love Lives On Act
One frequently cited DIC problem is already fixed and not part of the Caring for Survivors Act. The SBP-DIC offset, which used to reduce Survivor Benefit Plan annuities dollar for dollar by the amount of DIC a spouse received, was phased out beginning in 2021 under the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and fully eliminated on January 1, 2023. Survivors now receive both payments in full.16Defense Finance and Accounting Service. SBP-DIC Offset Phaseout