U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) is calling on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to pass legislation that would strengthen benefits to military survivors and families.
Boozman and Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the
Caring for Survivors Act of 2021 last month. The legislation aims to bring payments to Dependence and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) recipients in line with payments to surviving spouses of other federal employees. The rate of compensation paid to survivors of servicemembers who die in the line of duty or veterans who die from service-related injuries or diseases has been minimally adjusted since its establishment in 1993. DIC payments currently lag behind other programs’ payments by nearly 12 percent