Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2015

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ZELDIN. I thank the chairman for his leadership on the Veterans' Affairs Committee and for his unyielding passion toward always putting veterans first.

I thank the great staff as well on both sides of the aisle with the Veterans' Affairs Committee. It is a pleasure to serve with all of them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in support of H.R. 675, which has been amended to include my bill, H.R. 1569, the Veterans Estate Transfer to Survivors Act, or the VETS Act.

I am honored to represent the First Congressional District of New York, which is located on the east end of Long Island. My district is in the County of Suffolk, which has the largest veterans population of any county in New York and the second highest in the entire country. With so many veterans in my home county, I am extremely proud to serve on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

With the passage of H.R. 675, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2015, which has been amended to include my bill, H.R. 1569, veterans are securing a big victory here in the Halls of Congress.

The VETS Act is a commonsense reform to the VA benefit payouts that will help veterans and their families on Long Island and across the country as my legislation would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay certain benefits that were earned by a veteran to the veteran's estate.

Under current law, if a veteran passes away while the VA is still reviewing a claim, the VA no longer has to award the earned benefits. Currently, only a veteran's spouse, minor child, or dependent parent is eligible to collect the accrued benefits. By adding the estate to the current list of beneficiaries, adult children can now also receive the benefits earned should there be no other qualifying family members.

My bill ensures our veteran families, who rightfully earned and deserve their benefits, actually receive their benefits even after the veteran passes away. I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 675.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source