Bill > HR5607

This bill, the Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2021, amends Title 38 of the United States Code to extend increased dependency and indemnity compensation paid to surviving spouses of veterans who die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), regardless of how long the veteran had the disease prior to death. Specifically, the bill states that a veteran who died from ALS shall be treated as a veteran described in the existing law, which provides higher compensation rates to surviving spouses, without regard to the duration of the veteran's ALS diagnosis. Additionally, the bill defines "surviving spouse" for the purposes of this increased compensation as a person who was married to the veteran for at least 8 continuous years prior to the veteran's death. These provisions apply to veterans who die from ALS on or after October 1, 2021.