United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 6 D · 1 R · 1 I cosponsors

S 611 — Caring for Survivors Act of 2025

Last action — Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-35.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 18, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    1 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 3 parties (6 D · 1 R · 1 I) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Caring for Survivors Act of 2025This bill increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Dependency and indemnity compensation is a monthly payment made to eligible survivors (i.e., spouses, parents, or children) of (1) certain veterans who died as a result of a service-connected condition; (2) service members killed while on active military duty or active or inactive duty for training; or (3) veterans who did not die from a service-connected condition, but were totally disabled by a service-connected disability for a certain period of time.The bill also (1) reduces, from 10 years to 5 years, the period of time that certain veterans must have been rated totally disabled due to a service-connected disability in order for a survivor to qualify for benefits; and (2) specifies the amount that is payable to survivors of veterans who were rated totally disabled for a period of less than 10 years before their death.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

4 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill increases the dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and modifies eligibility criteria for certain veterans rated totally disabled at the time of death.

  • 38 U.S.C. § 1311(a)(1)

    $1,154 → equal to 55 percent of the rate of monthly compensation in effect under section 1114(j) of this title

    The monthly compensation rate for surviving spouses is changed from a fixed amount to a percentage of another compensation rate.

  • 38 U.S.C. § 1318(a)

    The Secretary → (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary

    Clarifies that the Secretary is subject to paragraphs that provide exceptions for certain cases.

  • 38 U.S.C. § 1318(a)

    (2) In any case in which the Secretary makes a payment under paragraph (1) of this subsection by reason of subsection (b)(1) and the period of continuous rating immediately preceding death is less than 10 years, the amount payable under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be an amount that bears the same relationship to the amount otherwise payable under such paragraph as the duration of such period bears to 10 years.

    Establishes a proportional payment rule for surviving spouses of veterans rated totally disabled for less than 10 years.

  • 38 U.S.C. § 1318(b)(1)

    10 or more years → five or more years

    Reduces the time requirement from 10 years to 5 years for veterans to qualify their surviving spouses for dependency and indemnity compensation.

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

  3. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-35.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 539 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (539)

539 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 539 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

veterans healthcare
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 611 do?
Caring for Survivors Act of 2025This bill increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Dependency and indemnity compensation is a monthly payment made to eligible survivors (i.e., spouses, parents, or children) of (1) certain veterans who died as a result of a service-connected condition; (2) service members killed while on active military duty or active or inactive duty for training; or (3) veterans who did not die from a service-connected condition, but were totally disabled by a service-connected disability for a certain period of time.The bill also (1) reduces, from 10 years to 5 years, the period of time that certain veterans must have been rated totally disabled due to a service-connected disability in order for a survivor to qualify for benefits; and (2) specifies the amount that is payable to survivors of veterans who were rated totally disabled for a period of less than 10 years before their death.
Who sponsors S 611?
S 611 is sponsored by Blumenthal, Richard (Democratic), Boozman, John (Republican), Baldwin, Tammy (Democratic), Sanders, Bernard (Independent), Murray, Patty (Democratic), Duckworth, Tammy (Democratic), Warren, Elizabeth (Democratic), and Kim, Andy (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 611?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 18, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 611?
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