Alan Simpson: “Mr. Speaker, many veterans and their survivors will be served as a result of the enhancements included in H.R. 4085, the…”

“Mr. Speaker, many veterans and their survivors will be served as a result of the enhancements included in H.R. 4085, the Veterans' and Survivors' Benefits Expansion Act of 2002. Section 2 provides an annual cost-of-living adjustment effective December 1, 2002, to service-connected veterans as well as those survivors receiving dependency and indemnity compensation. The Congress has approved a COLA every fiscal year since 1976; and as in the past, the percentage increase will mirror the COLA the Social Security recipients receive. Section 3 would allow surviving spouses who remarry after age 65 to retain their dependency and indemnity compensation, death compensation, VA health insurance, and education and home loan benefits. Additionally, those spouses who remarry after age 65, but prior to enactment of this bill, will have 1 year to reapply for their benefits. DIC is the only Federal survivor annuity that terminates when the spouse remarries. It is important, as the chairman stated, that I reiterate that this is the first step in enhancing the benefits for these spouses.”