Medal of Honor Recipients Could Get $100,000 Annual Pensions Under Bill Proposed in Congress

Living Medal of Honor recipients could get a significant boost in their pensions under a bill recently introduced in the Senate.

Under the Monetary Enhancement for Distinguished Active Legends, or MEDAL, Act, the monthly pension for Medal of Honor recipients would jump from $1,406.73 per month to $8,333.33. That's an annual increase from about $16,880 to $100,000.

"Our Medal of Honor recipients are true heroes whose acts of valor inspire and humble us," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the bill's Senate sponsor who is running for reelection right now in a race he is favored to win, said in a statement to Military.com prior to the bill being publicized. "Our nation owes an unpayable debt to our Medal of Honor recipients. I am proud to lead the charge in ensuring that our nation supports them in return. The Senate should expeditiously take up and pass this legislation."

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The bill was introduced Thursday but has not been previously reported. The Senate bill mirrors legislation introduced in the House last year by Reps. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who has been at the center of a military awards controversy. The House version of the bill has not seen any movement since being introduced.

Congress first approved giving Medal of Honor recipients a special pension independent from any other government benefits in 1916. At that time, the rate was $10 per month. Since then, Congress has acted to raise the pension over the years, most recently in 2002 when lawmakers approved a $1,000 monthly payment.

The rate also automatically increases each year based on cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security payments, according to current law. If approved, the MEDAL Act would mean Medal of Honor recipients get an annual pension of $100,000.

There are 60 living Medal of Honor recipients right now, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Under current law, surviving spouses of Medal of Honor recipients get the same amount of monthly pension as living recipients.

The MEDAL Act would change that so surviving spouses get $1,489.73 per month with annual cost-of-living adjustments, not the $8,333.33 being proposed for living medal recipients.

The Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1863 amid the Civil War and recognizes service members who distinguish themselves "through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty." Considered the highest military honor in the country, just 3,538 medals have been awarded since its inception, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Most recently, it was awarded posthumously to two Civil War privates who stole a Confederate train for the Union.

Related: Pentagon Reviewing 20 Medal of Honor Awards Given to Soldiers at the Wounded Knee Massacre