PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · May 24, 2023
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).
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
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.
People & committees
Rep. Phillips, Dean [D-MN-3] · D–MN
Legislative record
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Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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