H.R. "1004, the “Love Lives on Act of 2025”; H.R. 2164, the “Dayton National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2025”; H.R. 5339, the “Susan E. Lukas 9/11 Servicemember Fairness Act”; H.R. 5723, the “FRAUD in VA Disability Exam Act”; H.R. 6698, the “Board of Veterans Appeals Annual Report Transparency Act of 2025”; H.R. 6943, the “Veterans Burial Allowance and Reimbursement Act of 2026”; H.R. 7260, the “National Cemetery Administration Annual Report Act of 2026”
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House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs U.S. House of Representatives
Follow its sittingsSpeaker 3
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR 6698 offered by Mister Self of Texas. Section one.
Speaker 1
short term. Consent that the further readings of the amendment in the nature of a substitute will be dispensed with. I ask that it be considered base text for the purpose of the markup. Without objection, it's an order. I now recognize representative himself for five minutes to speak in support of the amendment and the nature of the substitute.
Speaker 4
Thank you, chairman. I thank you for the opportunity to speak on my bill, H.R. 6698, the Board of Veterans Appeals Annual Report Transparency Act. Bottom line, this bill will improve transparency within the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The improved reporting requirements will help Congress, VSOs, and veterans understand why cases are not decided within a timely manner as defined by the VA, and why cases receive a remand. This information will help identify where investments and changes can have the greatest impact.
Publishing docket dates of cases assigned to a board member for decision will help veterans have a clearer understanding of how far along the board is while working through the docket, and where their appeal may fall in line. These reforms rely on information already available to the board and simply require this information to be made public. Veterans deserve confidence that their appeals are being handled efficiently and fairly, and that when delays occur, they are identified and addressed. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment in the form of an ANS. Mister chairman, I yield back.
Speaker 1
Thank you, Mr. Self. Do any members wish to comment on the amendment of the nature of a substitute to HR 6698? Are there any amendments to the amendments in the nature of a substitute to HR 6698? Hearing none, the question now occurs on agreeing to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR 6698. All those in favor, say aye.
Aye. All no. Any opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The amendment in the nature of a substitute is agreed to. I now recognize Mr. McGarvey for a motion.
Speaker 2
Mister chairman, move the HR 6698 as amended be forward favorably to the full committee.
Speaker 1
The question is on favorability forwarding to the bill favoring forwarding the bill HR 6698 as an amendment to the full committee. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, say no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The motion is agreed to. HR 6698 as amended is forwarded favorably to the full committee. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. HR 7260, the National Cemetery Administration Annual Report Act of 2026. I now call up HR 7260, the National Cemetery Administration Annual Report Act.
Clerk shall read the bill.
Speaker 1
The text was circulated in advance pursuant to the committee rules. Without objection, the first reading is dispensed with. The bill is now open for amendment at any point. I now recognize Mister McGarvey for the purpose of offering an amendment to the nature of a substitute. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to.
Speaker 2
Thank mister McKenzie of Pennsylvania for working with me on both the underlying bill and this amendment in the nature of a substitute, which adds some clarifying language regarding summaries of major and minor construction projects carried out throughout the year. This ANS also requires more in-depth reporting of internments and grants. Mister chairman, this is all, as I have stated before, good government work. As a committee, we have the responsibility to honor our veterans from the moment they separate from service all the way to their final resting place. Mandating regular reporting from NCA adds some much-needed oversight to their work, and hopefully leads to better service for that end of life care.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation. I yield back.
Speaker 3
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR 7260 offered by Mister McGarvey of Kentucky. Section one, short title.
Speaker 1
I ask your name is Kim that the further readings of the amendment of the nature of a substitute shall be dispensed with. I ask that it be considered for take the best base text for the purpose of the markup without objection, so ordered. Mister McGarvey, do you want?
Speaker 2
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Move that HR 72 60 is a minute before favorably to the full committee.
Speaker 1
Do any members wish to comment on the amendment of the nature of a substitute to HR 7260? Are there any amendments to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR 7260? Hearing none, the question now occurs on agreeing to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR 7260. All those in favor, say aye. Aye.
I'll suppose to say no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the amendment in the nature of a substitute is agreed to. I now recognize Mister McGarvey for a motion.
Speaker 2
Mister chairman, I move that HR 7276 as amended be forwarded favorably to the full committee.
Speaker 1
The question is on favorably forwarding the bill HR 7260 as amended to the full committee. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All those posts say no. In the opinion that you’re the ayes have it, the motion is agreed to on HR 7260 as amended is forwarded favorably to the full committee.
Without objection, the motion to reconsider the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. I now ask unanimous consent to consider en bloc the following bills that did not have any amendments. HR 2164 Dayton, Dayton National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2025, HR 5339, Susan E. Lucas, Nine Eleven Service Member Fairness Act, HR 5723 Fraud and VA Disability Exam Act, and HR 6943 Veterans Burial Allowance and Reimbursement Act 2026. Hearing no objection. So, ordered, the clerk shall report the bills.
Speaker 1
The bills were circulated in advance pursuant to the committee rules. I ask that the readings of the bills be dispensed with, and the bills be open to an amendment at any point. Without objection, so ordered. I recognize myself for a moment to say these bills would ensure benefits for survivors and veterans, and it meets their needs after the service. They secure a fair and expedient system for reimbursing all veterans and eligible families who choose to be buried in a private cemetery.
These bills are not yet offset, but I look forward to working with Mr. McGarvey and my colleagues to do so. Do any members wish to speak on any of the bills included in the en bloc? Do any members wish to offer an amendment to any of these bills? Hearing none, I now recognize Mr. McGarvey for a motion. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Speaker 2
I move that en bloc number one consisting of HR 2164, HR 5339, HR 5723, and HR 6943 be forwarded favorably to the full committee.
Speaker 1
There's a motion to favorably forward the bills included in the en bloc to the full committee. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All those opposed, say no. In the opinion that you're the eyes having in the bills, HR 2164, HR 5339, HR 5723, and HR 6943 are favorably forward to full committee.
HR 1004, Love Lives On Act. And I'll call up HR 1004, the lone survivor, act the lone survivor. My apologies. Love Lives On Act. The clerk shall report the bill.
Speaker 1
The text was circulated in advance pursuant to the committee rules, without objections. First reading is dispensed with. The bill is now open for amendments at any point. I now recognize myself to speak briefly on the bill. As chairman of the subcommittee on disability assistance and memorial affairs, I want to thank my colleagues on this committee for their thoughtful bipartisan work throughout this year.
This is exactly how this committee should function, in my opinion. And, again, thank you all. I'm, under current law, surviving spouses who remarried before the age of 55 give up their survivors' benefits. This decision puts families into a difficult and deeply personal position. To rebuild your life with a new spouse or maintain survivors is never easy.
HR 1004, the love lives on act eliminates that difficult choice. It allows surviving spouses to retain their benefits and certain pension benefits after remarriage, and expands access to TRICARE in specific circumstances. A sacrifice made by these families does not disappear, and our support should not either. I strongly support the intent behind this legislation and the problem it seeks to solve. This is the right issue, and it deserves to be addressed.
At this time, as we work to move this bill forward, we also have a responsibility to ensure that it can stand on solid footing under the rules of the House. That means continuing to work together to identify a responsible path that allows the policy to advance in a way that is both durable and achievable. I committed to work with my colleagues to get this across the finish line as soon as possible. Does any member wish to comment on this bill? Mister McGarvey.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Speaker 2
I really appreciate your work on this bill. This is a bill I strongly support. And I will start off by just saying, I came out of the state legislature, spent ten years in the state senate in Kentucky. I consider myself a balanced-budget guy. We had to balance our budget every time.
But I don't understand why we keep going back and forth over these benefits for less than 1% of the Americans who stand up and serve this nation. In this moment, why do we keep asking veterans and their survivors to find the money inside the veteran community to take care of their own? I can't overstate the impossible situation. The testimony we've heard right here in this committee, and even in the full committee that we put our survivor community in. We make them choose between marrying again and losing the income they depend on, or having to explain over and over again why marriage isn't in the cards for you.
We've heard from the people impacted by this. It sounds awful. It sounds impossible. And as the bill suggests, love lives on. The service lives on.
We shouldn't just honor our veterans who put that patch on their shoulder. We need to honor their families who go on the journey with them. Mister chairman, I hope this is a bill that we do get across the finish line, because it is way past time for this bill to become law. Y'all yield back.
Speaker 1
Thank you, mister. Miss Porter, I'm sorry. Miss Dexter, go ahead. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Miss Morrison.
But doctor Morrison, I apologize.
Speaker 5
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was proud to introduce this legislation with you and the ranking member and the gentleman from North Carolina, Mister Hudson, others. Thank you for your partnership and leadership on this important issue, and I'm glad this bill is on the docket for today's markup. I come from a proud family of veterans, from my dad, father-in-law, and grandfathers to my husband, John, an army combat veteran. When a service member leaves home, the entire family has to make sacrifices.
No surviving military spouse whose husband or wife has made the ultimate sacrifice should be forced to choose between finding love again and keeping the benefits that their family deserves. That's why I was proud to introduce the Love Lives On Act, which will eliminate the remarriage penalty for surviving military spouses. Under current law, surviving military spouses are at risk of losing benefits if they remarry before the age of 55. This bill will allow them to retain their survivor benefit plan and dependency and indemnity compensation, regardless of when they remarry. Additionally,
Speaker 5
Will allow surviving military spouses to regain TRICARE benefits if their new marriage ends in death, divorce, or annulment. We owe survivor benefits to those who have tragically lost their loved ones. These brave men and women have already suffered unimaginable loss, and it's time we allow them to move forward with dignity and strength instead of fear of losing the benefits they received due to their late spouse's sacrifice. I'm proud to have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and both chambers on this bill, and I'm thankful to the families who have shared their stories and advocated on its behalf. This is common sense.
Our surviving military families and spouses have already sacrificed so much, and letting them keep their benefits is the very least we can do as they work through immense pain and grief. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the bill, and I yield back.
Speaker 1
Thank you, Doctor Morrison. Any other member? Are there any amendments to HR 1004? Hearing none, I now recognize Mr. McGarvey for a motion.
Speaker 2
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that HR 1004 be forwarded favorably to the full committee.
Speaker 1
There is a motion to favorably forward HR 1004. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no.
Any opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. HR 1004 is favorably reported to the full committee. I ask unanimous consent that the committee staff be authorized to make technical, clerical, and conforming changes to the bills favorably forwarded today. Hearing no objection, so ordered. I thank the members for their attendance, and the subcommittee is adjourned.
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