Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. STEFANIK. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Bost for yielding me the time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, the Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act, H.R. 3123. I also thank Ranking Member Takano for his comments and support.

I have represented the Peltz family for well over a decade, and that included Ernest Peltz, a World War II veteran and American hero, who died a few years ago between Christmas and New Year's Day.

At that time, I heard from his son, Charles Peltz, who found himself caught in a maze of bureaucratic VA red tape. Instead of being able to focus on honoring the life and service of his father, the Peltz family was forced to contend with a system that failed the very veteran it was designed to serve.

Hero Ernest Peltz did everything right. He served admirably and honorably in our military. He continued a lifetime of public service. He applied for his accrued veterans pension benefit, and the Department of Veterans Affairs approved it while he was still alive.

I even got a call from his family as Ernest Peltz was on his death bed, that he was asking to make sure the VA benefits would be there. I encouraged them and said that absolutely we would do everything to make that possible. Yet, due to a processing error, the VA did not deposit the funds until after Mr. Peltz' passing. In an even more troubling turn, the VA then clawed those funds back from the Peltz family even though Ernest Peltz was alive at the time that this benefit was approved and fully earned.

As a result, the Peltz family was left to shoulder the financial burden of his father's care on their own, compounding grief with stress, uncertainty, and frustration. In short, the Peltz family was penalized for the VA's mistakes. This is unacceptable.

This is why I have been working for over 2 years to pass the Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act. We have worked closely with the Peltz family, veterans service organizations, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including the lead Democrat sponsor, Congressman Ro Khanna, to craft this legislation to correct this moral wrong.

This bill eliminates the burden on a veteran's surviving family by ensuring that the veteran is entitled to receive their pre-approved pension benefits within the month that death occurs.

I represent New York's 21st Congressional District, representing the largest number of veterans in any district in New York State. That is why I am proud to take action to make sure no family mourning the loss of a loved one who is a veteran has to deal with VA red tape and these bureaucratic mistakes.

This commonsense, bipartisan legislation honors the legacy of World War II Veteran Ernest Peltz and takes a critical step toward improving the VA's effectiveness and accountability.

What was amazing about this process, while mourning the loss of their father, Charles Peltz shared with me his priority was making sure that this never happened to another family again. That is why we are working to pass this bill today.

I thank Charles Peltz for his work with my office and with me directly. I am grateful for the bipartisan support, and I urge a ``yes'' to pass it on the floor.

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