Bill > HR4096

This bill, the American Heroes COLA Act of 2014, proposes to automatically adjust annually the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) for survivors of certain disabled veterans. Specifically, it amends Title 38 of the United States Code to link these veteran benefits to the cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) made to Social Security benefit amounts under Title II of the Social Security Act. This means that whenever Social Security benefits increase due to inflation, the disability compensation and DIC rates will automatically increase by the same percentage, effective on the same date. The bill specifies which dollar amounts for various veteran benefits, including wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, clothing allowances, and DIC for surviving spouses and children, will be subject to these increases. Any resulting dollar amounts that are not whole dollars will be rounded down to the nearest whole dollar. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs will also have the authority to administratively adjust certain other compensation rates to align with these increases. This provision is set to take effect on December 1, 2015.