Justice for ALS Veterans 2023

Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2023 will extend increased Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) paid to surviving spouses of veterans who die from ALS, regardless of how long the veterans lived with ALS.

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About the legislation

The current policy provides DIC monthly payment of $288.27 to spouses of a veteran, who at the time of death received or was entitled to receive compensation for a service-connected disability that was rated totally disabling for a continuous period of at least eight years right before they died. This extra compensation installment is commonly referred to as the DIC kicker.

Unfortunately, because most people with ALS, a recognized service-connected disease, live fewer than eight years from diagnosis, the surviving spouses of veterans with ALS have been unfairly denied this benefit. The same spouses who may have quit their jobs to take care of their loved ones who progressively lost muscle control, became paralyzed and relied heavily on their caregiver to stay alive.

Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2023 (H.R.3790; S.1590) would fix this injustice by ensuring DIC benefits are provided to the surviving spouses of veterans who died from ALS, even if the veteran did not experience eight years of disability.