What Does NAMB Do?

THE LATEST INITIATIVES FROM NAMB’S COMMITTEES

NAMB operates via many moving parts – specifically a small but mighty staff and more than 20 committees & subcommittees. Part of what NAMBCentral can offer is insight into what NAMB intends to accomplish this year.

At a recent meeting, VA committee chair Jeff Wilson led the discussion of two bills.

H.R. 4191, a bill introduced by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21) and Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-3), which intends “to restore non-monetary survivor benefits to the remarried spouses of fallen U.S. service members.”

The Gold Star Spouses Non-Monetary Benefits Act is in the first stage of the legislative process. The Department of Defense and Department of Veteran Affairs provide various benefits to assist with those hardships. However, many of those benefits are forfeited once a surviving spouse remarries before age 57, or in some cases, age 55.

“By suspending survivor’s benefits because of remarriage,” said Rep. Stefanik, “we are breaking faith with Gold Star spouses who are depending on us to help them through some of the most difficult circumstances. This bill seeks to change that, and instead honor our military families and support them through the tragic and unfortunate loss of their loved ones.”

H.R. 2827, the Captain James C. Edge Gold Star Spouse Equity Act, was introduced by Congressmen Michael Waltz (FL-6) & Seth Moulton (MA-6) and would “amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to restore benefits to widows & widowers of servicemembers killed in the line of duty.”

“Under current law, these widows & widowers are forced to forfeit earned benefits should they remarry before 55 [or] 57,” said Rep. Waltz. “These arbitrary age limits are completely nonsensical and only punishes those who forever mourn the loss of their spouse. We owe a debt that cannot be fully repaid to Gold Star families. We must fix this for them.”

These bills are in the first stage of the legislative process, and will be on NAMB’s lobbying agenda at the Legislative & Regulatory Conference in April. NC

Learn more about our 20-plus committees at namb.org/committees.