President Joe Biden recently signed into law a bipartisan, bicameral bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) that will increase several compensation benefits for United States military veterans and their dependents.
“Like millions of Americans, veterans who served our country are facing rising costs from inflation and their well-earned benefits are not keeping up,” Sen. Tillis said. “I am proud to have co-introduced this critical legislation to ensure their benefits keep up with the cost of living.”
Biden on Oct. 10 signed into law the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2022, H.R. 7846, which requires the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the amounts payable for wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children, according to the congressional record bill summary.
Specifically, the VA must increase the amounts by the same percentage as the cost-of-living increase in benefits for Social Security recipients that is effective on Dec. 1. The new law also requires the VA to publish the amounts payable, as increased, in the Federal Register. And the VA is authorized to make a similar adjustment to the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who have not received compensation for service-connected disability or death, the summary says.
H.R. 7846 was introduced on May 19 by U.S. Reps. Elaine Luria (D-VA) and Troy Nehls (R-TX) as the identical bill to the same-named S. 4223, which Sen. Tillis and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) offered on May 16. The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 14 approved H.R. 7846, which the U.S. Senate then passed on Sept. 22 before presenting it to the president to become law.