PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 11, 2025
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.
People & committees
Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] · D–CT
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.2055 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.2055 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.2055 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.2055 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-11 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill proposes changing the monthly compensation calculation for surviving spouses of veterans to 55 percent of another monthly compensation rate in veterans law. It would also shorten one qualifying period for survivors of certain veterans continuously rated totally disabled from ten years to five, with proportionally reduced payments for periods under ten years. A special payment safeguard would apply to eligible survivors of veterans who died before 1993.
Section 1311(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended in paragraph (1), by striking of $1,154 and inserting equal to 55 percent of the rate of monthly compensation in effect under section 1114(j) of this title.
Modification of requirements for dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain veterans rated totally disabled at time of death
in subsection (b)(1), by striking 10 or more years and inserting five or more years.
the amount payable under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be an amount that bears the same relationship to the amount otherwise payable under such paragraph as the duration of such period bears to 10 years.
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay to an individual described in subparagraph (B) dependents and survivors income security benefit under section 1311 of title 38, United States Code, in the monthly amount that is the greater of the following
An individual described in this subparagraph is an individual eligible for dependents and survivors income security benefit under section 1311 of title 38, United States Code, that is predicated on the death of a veteran before January 1, 1993.
Section 1 names the proposed legislation the Caring for Survivors Act of 2025.
This Act may be cited as the Caring for Survivors Act of 2025.
Section 2 would replace the statutory reference to $1,154 in the surviving-spouse compensation provision with an amount equal to 55 percent of the monthly rate in section 1114(j). The proposal links the payment calculation to that other rate.
Increase in amount of dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses
Section 1311(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended in paragraph (1), by striking of $1,154 and inserting equal to 55 percent of the rate of monthly compensation in effect under section 1114(j) of this title.
The section 2 change would generally apply to compensation for months beginning after the date six months after enactment, subject to the special rule for certain survivors.
Except as provided by paragraph (2), the amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to compensation paid under chapter 13 of title 38, United States Code, for months beginning after the date that is six months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
For eligible individuals whose benefit is based on a veteran’s death before January 1, 1993, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs would have to pay the greater of two amounts: the amount calculated under section 1311(a)(3) as it stood the day before enactment, or the new section 1311(a)(1) amount. This safeguard would apply to months beginning after the date six months after enactment.
For months beginning after the date that is six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay to an individual described in subparagraph (B) dependents and survivors income security benefit under section 1311 of title 38, United States Code, in the monthly amount that is the greater of the following: (i) The amount determined under subsection (a)(3) of such section 1311, as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. (ii) The amount determined under subsection (a)(1) of such section 1311, as amended by subsection (a).
An individual described in this subparagraph is an individual eligible for dependents and survivors income security benefit under section 1311 of title 38, United States Code, that is predicated on the death of a veteran before January 1, 1993.
Section 3 would reduce the rating-duration requirement in section 1318(b)(1) from ten or more years to five or more years for survivors of certain veterans rated totally disabled at death. This changes one qualifying requirement; it does not reproduce the other eligibility rules.
Modification of requirements for dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain veterans rated totally disabled at time of death
in subsection (b)(1), by striking 10 or more years and inserting five or more years.
For payments based on section 1318(b)(1), a continuous rating lasting less than ten years immediately before death would produce a proportional payment: the otherwise payable amount multiplied by the rating period divided by ten years.
In any case in which the Secretary makes a payment under paragraph (1) of this subsection by reason of subsection (b)(1) and the period of continuous rating immediately preceding death is less than 10 years, the amount payable under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be an amount that bears the same relationship to the amount otherwise payable under such paragraph as the duration of such period bears to 10 years.
The supplied action snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records introduction and referral to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on March 11, 2025; referral to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs on March 27; and subcommittee hearings on June 24, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:40:34Z. 2025-06-24: Subcommittee Hearings Held 2025-03-27: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. 2025-03-11: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. 2025-03-11: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-11. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish what appears in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places outside competitive or formula allocation was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying earmark materials were not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a narrow, date-based payment safeguard within the main survivor-compensation policy. Classification identifies special treatment, not whether it is justified.
Eligible survivors whose benefit is based on a veteran’s death before January 1, 1993, would receive a special greater-of calculation. The Secretary would compare the pre-enactment section 1311(a)(3) amount with the new section 1311(a)(1) amount and pay whichever is higher, beginning with months after the date six months after enactment.
For months beginning after the date that is six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay to an individual described in subparagraph (B) dependents and survivors income security benefit under section 1311 of title 38, United States Code, in the monthly amount that is the greater of the following: (i) The amount determined under subsection (a)(3) of such section 1311, as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. (ii) The amount determined under subsection (a)(1) of such section 1311, as amended by subsection (a).
An individual described in this subparagraph is an individual eligible for dependents and survivors income security benefit under section 1311 of title 38, United States Code, that is predicated on the death of a veteran before January 1, 1993.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI