Maine Independent U.S. Senator Angus King is introducing a bill to correct a disparity in funeral and burial benefits for veterans who die from service-connected injuries.
Congress increased burial benefits for non-service-connected deaths and tied them to inflation back in 2020.
Senator King is proposing to bring service-connected benefits to the same level and correct an imbalance.
The bill, known as the “Veteran Burial Benefit Correction Act,” increases service-connected benefits from $2,000 to $3,000 and ties them to the same inflation adjustment as the non-service-connected benefit.
Kings say it’s the least that can be done for the families of deceased service members.
“Veterans who die as a result of their service to our nation deserve to be honored appropriately, and their families deserve our full support,” said King. “Our Veteran Burial Benefit Correction Act corrects an unintended disparity between service and non-service related deaths to even out the burial benefits for these veterans who served our country.”
The bipartisan bill has a Republican cosponsor, Senator Jim Risch in Indiana.
