Tucson Standard

U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) celebrated the House passage of his legislation to better ensure that the surviving spouses and families of veterans receive the benefits they deserve, even after their loved one has passed away.

In 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) moved the Office of Survivors Assistance (OSA) from the Office of the VA Secretary to the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA). This move has prevented OSA from having direct access to the VA Secretary to fix policy or address wide-ranging problems with this program.

Ciscomani’s legislation, the Prioritizing Veterans’ Survivors Act (H.R. 7100), would move OSA back within the Office of the VA Secretary to restore direct access and ensure that surviving families of veterans not only receive the benefits they were promised but also have a direct line to the Secretary so that their needs and concerns are heard at the very top. Full text of the bill is available here.

“Our veterans are our nation’s heroes,” said Ciscomani, a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “When duty called, these brave individuals answered, sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. Surviving family members of these heroes deserve to have their needs prioritized by the VA, especially when it comes to accessing the benefits they deserve. The United States has a sacred responsibility to care for our servicemembers and their families. I am proud to see the House of Representatives vote to approve my legislation to move the Office of Survivors Assistance back under the VA Secretary to ensure families of fallen veterans can access the benefits they were promised.”

“To uphold President Lincoln's sacred promise made to veterans and their families, VA must make care, services, and benefits for surviving family members a top priority, as much as it does for veterans,” said House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bost. “But under the Biden-Harris administration, survivor assistance was moved far down VA’s organization chart, is understaffed, and survivors’ benefits are not being prioritized. That’s unacceptable. Rep. Ciscomani’s bipartisan bill, Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act, would right this wrong and ensure veterans’ survivors have a seat at the table they have earned. I want to thank my friend and colleague from Arizona for his leadership on this bill on behalf of veterans’ survivors and I look forward to seeing it signed into law soon.”

H.R. 7100 passed in Congress on September 17th with unanimous support by voice vote.