Legislative Report

Gold Star Wives of America, Inc
Legislative Issues for the 109th Congress

Survivor Compensation Benefits:

GSW will promote compensation benefits that are fair and equitable to meet the needs of all military surviving spouses and children.

• Survivor Benefit Program (SBP): SBP is a survivor annuity purchased by a military retiree to guarantee his surviving spouse will receive 55% of his retired pay. GSW seeks legislation to provide full SBP benefits without offset of DIC payments as SBP is provided to all other military widows.
• Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) reinstatement with remarriage at age 55. DIC is a level indemnity payment from the Department of Veterans Administration to surviving family members of service members who died on active duty or from a service related disability.
• Dependents Indemnity Compensation; A VA payment that serves as indemnification for the service related death. GSW seeks legislation that will make the surviving spouses payment at 55% of the current VA disability compensation.
• Social Security: Support legislation to repeal the Government Pension penalties with the Social Security offset for surviving spouses under Civil Service Retirement System and certain State retirement systems. No military widow should be denied the social security widow/ers payment paid for by the deceased military member.

Medical Care:

GSW will monitor and promote changing healthcare benefits to fairly and equitably include the surviving spouse and eligible children.

• Promote grief counseling as a TRICARE benefit.
• CHAMPVA benefits - seek legislation to remove the part B penalties and interest for late enrollment
• TRICARE - reinstate TRICARE benefits for the remarried widow when the second marriage ends
• Assisted Living/Long Term care facilities - promote a feasibility study to convert DVA facilities to Long Term care facilities which would welcome widow(er)s

Oversight of Benefits for surviving family members :

GSW supports the creation of an Office for Survivors with the Department of Veteran's Affairs and the Department of Defense to assure improved delivery of benefit information and benefits to survivors.

Education:

GSW will work to protect the Chapter 35 education benefits provided to surviving spouses and
children....to link future improvements to the Montgomery GI bill and index the payments to the cost of living allowance.

• To promote expanded opportunities for military surviving spouses in education, employment, career progression, and retirement plan portability.
• To include surviving spouses as recipients of unemployment compensation if they must relocate following an active duty death.

Commissary and Exchange:

GSW will work to ensure full funding of the current system to insure the benefit and preclude an increase in the surcharge.

Morale, Welfare, and Recreation:

GSW will promote the provision of MWR services to continue to include the needs of survivors.

To monitor the Base Realignment and Closures for 2005 for closures of Quality of Life Services and take actions if appropriate.

• Seek legislation to provide military "space A" travel for surviving spouses and children.

Gold Star Wives of America, Inc. is a nonprofit national military widows service organization chartered by the United States Congress.