For the first time in more than two decades, the House of Representatives has approved a major increase in benefits for some of the nation's most catastrophically disabled veterans. The House recently passed the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act, legislation that would increase benefits by roughly $10,000 annually for veterans receiving the highest levels of Special Monthly Compensation while also increasing support for surviving military spouses and families receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, or DIC. In an exclusive interview with Military.com, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., said the legislation addresses a problem that has persisted for decades.
I want you to think about this, Bost said. It's been decades since we've increased the amount that they receive. Decades since 9/11 that any increase at all was given.
The legislation now heads to the Senate, where supporters hope to build momentum around a bill that has drawn support from more than 20 veteran service organizations such as the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project, The American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The Veterans the Bill Was Designed to Help
