Brian Jones: “Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about something that, quite frankly, I find to be…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about something that, quite frankly, I find to be completely abhorrent, and that is the short- changing of our Nation's military widows when it comes to survivor benefits they paid for and earned. It is something that I was dismayed to learn is happening to some 65,000 surviving spouses of American military servicemembers--including more than 2,000 Alabamians--who were killed in action or died as a result of service-connected causes. After suffering the loss of a loved one, military widows and their families can find themselves unexpectedly losing out on vital survivor benefits they had planned to receive in these tragic circumstances. That is because, under current law, surviving spouses are entitled to receive VA dependency and indemnity compensation benefits, or what is known as DIC. Some families go a step further. Like many families in the private sector, many go a step further by voluntarily paying into the Defense Department's Survivor Benefits Plan, which acts like an additional life insurance policy. Again, they are entitled to the DIC benefits, but they pay for additional coverage should there be a tragic accident or tragic death, which acts like an additional life insurance policy. That policy is something these families voluntarily pay into, and like any other life insurance plan you or I might buy, they expect to get the benefits they have paid for.…”