# Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025

This bill makes it easier for surviving spouses of veterans who die from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) to receive increased financial support from the government. Currently, the VA provides higher survivor benefits to spouses of veterans who die from certain service-connected conditions, but there's a catch—the veteran generally has to have had the disease for a minimum amount of time before death. This bill removes that time requirement specifically for ALS, meaning surviving spouses will qualify for these increased benefits regardless of whether their veteran spouse had ALS for years or just months before passing away.

The increased payments are called dependency and indemnity compensation, and they're meant to help surviving spouses cover living expenses after losing their veteran. Under this bill, a surviving spouse would be eligible for these higher payments as long as they were married to the veteran for at least eight continuous years before the veteran's death. The change takes effect for veterans who die from ALS on or after October 1, 2025. This matters because ALS is a rapidly progressive disease—many people diagnosed with it don't survive more than a few years—so removing the time requirement ensures that spouses aren't penalized financially just because their loved one's illness progressed quickly.

The bill also requires the VA to study other serious, fast-moving service-connected diseases to determine if they should receive the same treatment as ALS. Within six months, the VA must report back to Congress with a list of other conditions that cause high mortality rates among veterans and recommend whether those conditions should also be eligible for the same streamlined survivor benefits. This suggests the bill's sponsors recognize that ALS isn't the only condition where veterans might not have enough time to meet existing requirements before death.

Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025

Fitzpatrick, Brian K.

Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025This bill extends increased dependency and indemnity compensation to the surviving spouse of a veteran who dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) regardless of how long the veteran had such disease prior to death. Under current law, such compensation is paid for a service-connected disability that was rated totally disabling for a continuous period of at least eight years immediately preceding death.For purposes of compensation for a surviving spouse of a veteran who dies from ALS, the spouse must have been married to the veteran for a continuous period of eight years or longer prior to the death of the veteran.Additionally, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must report on service-connected disabilities the VA determines should be treated in the same manner as ALS for purposes of dependency and indemnity compensation.