Jeff Miller: “on July 14 of this year, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs reported H.R. 3200, the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance…”

“on July 14 of this year, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs reported H.R. 3200, the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Enhancement Act of 2005. On July 26 of this year, the House passed the bill by a vote of 424-0. Among other things, this bill would provide a permanent authorization for increases in maximum life insurance covered under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Program and the Veterans Group Life Insurance Program from $250,000 to $400,000. {time} 1330 Public Law 109-13, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act For Defense, the Global War on Terror, and the Tsunami Relief, 2005, increased the maximum coverage to $400,000 under these programs; however, the authorization expires in just 2 days, that is, September 30. It is my understanding that during negotiations on the supplemental that the Senate included the termination date which was approved in the conference report to afford the legislative committees of jurisdiction the opportunity to hold hearings and further consider the specifics of the emergency authorization before it was made permanent. The increased level of coverage was requested by the President because of concerns that death benefits for survivors of servicemembers were inadequate as our Nation fights the global war on terrorism. Further, Public Law 109-13 mandated spousal consent even in cases where the couple is estranged, as long as they are still legally married.…”