Bill > A986

Introduced Session

This bill requires the payment of the $750 annual compensation payable to a surviving spouse of a blind or severely disabled wartime veteran to begin from the date of the veteran's death, regardless of when the surviving spouse files the application for this benefit. If the veteran died before April 9, 1985, the surviving spouse will be entitled to the annual compensation from that date forward, again regardless of the date of the application. Surviving spouses were first made eligible for this benefit on April 9, 1985 by P.L.1985, c.116. Under current regulations of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, a surviving spouse is eligible for this benefit from the date of application which for a variety of reasons may be years after the veteran's death. A surviving spouse should not be unfairly denied this benefit due simply to lack of knowledge about the benefit or forgetting to file due to the grief and disruption that occurs following a spouse's death. This lifetime benefit is statutorily available to a veteran who was blinded in service during any war including specifically World War II and the Korean Conflict, or who was severely disabled as a result of service during any war including specifically World War II, the Korean conflict, or Vietnam, although the department has made this benefit available to veterans who served in other wars or military emergencies. A veteran who applied for this benefit within one year of military discharge received payments beginning with that year. A veteran who applied after that received payments from the date of application presumably because the veteran became blind or severely disabled years after discharge as a result of the injury or disease suffered during the wartime service. This same requirement that payments begin from the date of application should not apply to surviving spouses because at the time of the veteran's death it is known that he or she was blind or severely disabled as a result of wartime service.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

DiAnne Gove (R)*,  Brian Rumpf (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee (on 01/27/2016)