PRIORITIZING VETERANS' SURVIVORS ACT

On 2025-04-07, Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-6) delivered a floor speech titled "PRIORITIZING VETERANS' SURVIVORS ACT" in the House.

PRIORITIZING VETERANS' SURVIVORS ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 62 (Monday, April 7, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 62 (Monday, April 7, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1433-H1435] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PRIORITIZING VETERANS' SURVIVORS ACT Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1228) to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the organization of the Office of Survivors Assistance of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1228 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act''. [[Page H1434]] SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF ORGANIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF SURVIVORS ASSISTANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. Section 321(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ``in the Department'' and inserting ``in the Office of the Secretary''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois. General Leave Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 1228. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Illinois? There was no objection. Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1228, offered by my friend and colleague Representative Ciscomani of Arizona. This bill would ensure that VA prioritizes its care, services, and benefits for surviving family members of veterans as much as VA does for veterans. This bill would do so by requiring that the VA Office of Survivors Assistance conducts its mission within the Office of the VA Secretary. In 2008, Congress created the Office of Survivors Assistance to serve as the Secretary's principal adviser and resource on all VA benefits and services for veterans' surviving loved ones. However, the Biden-Harris administration moved this office from the Secretary's office to the Veterans Benefits Administration Pension and Fiduciary Service. This decision to hide the Office of Survivors Assistance near the bottom of the VA organizational chart reflected the Biden-Harris administration's lack of commitment to the surviving loved ones of our veterans. During the Biden-Harris administration, the Office of Survivors Assistance did not have a direct line to the Secretary on the care, services, and benefits offered by the VA offices, including those outside the VBA's Pension and Fiduciary Services that they did in the original bill of 2008. Mr. Ciscomani's bill will correct the Biden-Harris administration's disservice to survivors and would ensure survivors have a seat at the table again. The current administration supports this bill and is therefore as committed as I am to ensuring that the needs of the veterans' surviving families are prioritized by the VA. Now, I am proud to co-lead this bill with Representative Ciscomani on behalf of the surviving families of our Nation's heroes, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1228. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 1228, the Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act. The bill requires the VA to move the Office of Survivors Assistance, or OSA, to a position directly reporting to the Office of the VA Secretary. The Office of Survivors Assistance was established by statute in 2008 to serve as a resource regarding all benefits and services furnished by the Department to survivors and dependents of deceased veterans and members of the Armed Forces. OSA also serves as a principal adviser to the Secretary and promotes the use of VA benefits, programs, and services to survivors. VA moved the supervision of OSA from the Office of Outreach, Transition and Economic Development to VBA's Pension and Fiduciary Service. The VA made this move with the idea that it would increase emphasis on the office and oversight of OSA as VBA has more capacity to properly oversee the function. However, the survivors' community has been critical of this move, characterizing it as a downgrade of the function and a diminishing of the importance of survivors in the VA's mission. H.R. 1228 is responsive to those concerns. Now, historically, there has been a lack of resources dedicated to the mission of serving survivors. For example, there are only four employees in the Office of Survivors Assistance to serve over 450,000 potentially eligible beneficiaries. By the way, Secretary Collins actually fired one of those four people. We also see a lack of awareness of who is part of the survivors' community, where the community is, and a lack of direct and targeted outreach. That is why I am deeply concerned by all of the DOGE cuts to the VA's outreach efforts. Overall, we have seen an underutilization of survivors' benefits, so we must do whatever we can to remedy that situation. This bill is a small but important step in that process. I would be remiss, however, if I didn't also point to other legislation that we can and should be taking up to improve benefits for survivors. I have introduced H.R. 2278, the Survivor Benefits Delivery Improvement Act, a bill that puts new tools in the VA's hands to aid in reaching survivors where they are and better inform them of the benefits they have earned. We have Members, like Representative Julia Brownley, who have introduced legislation to extend CHAMPVA eligibility. Representative Jahana Hayes has introduced legislation to raise the levels of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation benefits to be on par with other Federal survivors' programs. We have Republican Members like Richard Hudson, who has introduced the Love Lives On Act, with Veterans' Affairs Committee member Representative Kelly Morrison, that would repeal the ridiculous penalties survivors face when they choose to remarry. My hope is that we can consider those bills soon. In the meantime, however, I do support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to support it, as well. I extend a special thanks to the survivors who may be listening today and those who are with us only in spirit. Your stories demonstrate bravery and courage, and you deserve every ounce of our effort in creating a VA that is welcoming and accessible, and every dollar of benefits we can muster on your behalf. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani). Mr. CISCOMANI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Bost for yielding me time today to speak in support of my bill, H.R. 1228, the Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act. Since being elected, I have heard from military servicemembers and surviving family members about their struggles accessing VA benefits. In my district, I started a Veterans Advisory Council, and we often discuss this very topic to find ways to better this situation. I am always looking to ensure that Department of Veterans Affairs leaders hear the concerns of veterans' loved ones. From its creation, the Office of Survivors Assistance, OSA, was meant to serve as the principal adviser to the VA Secretary on all survivors' benefits and services, as well, including medical care and burial benefits. When the VA placed OSA within the Veterans Benefits Administration, they deprioritized survivors' policies and skirted Congress' intent when it created this office. My bill would fix this by requiring OSA to operate within the Secretary's office, thereby prioritizing advocacy and services for servicemembers' and veterans' surviving spouses and families, as well. I will highlight the comment of a member of my Veterans Advisory Council, Ms. Jane Strain, a surviving spouse and an Army veteran herself. She said: Surviving spouses and families who cared for children, moved many times during a military career, compromised their own careers, and maintained their homelife while the servicemember was deployed have earned and deserve attention when the spouse has passed. Placing the OSA directly under the Secretary will help to recognize the importance of this population. Mr. Speaker, I was proud to work alongside Chairman Bost on this to ensure survivors have a seat at the table. [[Page H1435]] I urge my colleagues to support and pass this commonsense legislation again in the 119th Congress as it did without objection last Congress. Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will return back to the issue of VASP and read aloud a letter that I am circulating to my colleagues for a signature to the Secretary, and it begins with: ``Dear Secretary Collins: On April 3, 2025, you abruptly announced the closure of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program (VASP), leaving tens of thousands of veterans at risk of foreclosure. These actions were taken unilaterally, leaving veterans, veterans service organizations, and mortgage services unsure how the closure would be administered, and what would happen to veterans that are already reeling from this administration's assault on veterans and our economy. We write today to urge you to immediately reverse this decision, and avoid foreclosing on veterans who simply wish to keep paying their mortgage and keep their home. ``Since the inception of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program (VASP) in May 2024, over 17,000 veterans have been able to avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes.'' This represents 0.46 percent of the 3.7 million

Referenced legislation: HR1228, HR1228, HR2278