Veterans will get a cost-of-living bump in their benefits next year after Congress passed annual legislation this week to guarantee the increase keeps pace with Social Security rates.
Before leaving town for an extended election-season break, the Senate approved the bill by voice vote Wednesday, sending the measure to President Joe Biden's desk for his expected signature. The House previously approved the bill by voice vote last week.
"At a time when folks are struggling with rising costs, from housing to groceries, veterans deserve absolute certainty when it comes to providing for their families," Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a statement Thursday. "Boosting veterans' hard-earned benefits to keep pace with the cost of living is a necessary cost of war, and I'm proud this bipartisan legislation will deliver a benefits increase to millions of disabled veterans and survivors nationwide -- including 30,000 in Montana."
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The increase applies to disability benefits, clothing allowances, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.
The bill specifically ties the increase to the annual cost-of-living adjustment in Social Security benefits. The 2025 rate for Social Security won't be announced by federal officials until Oct. 10.
But the advocacy group Senior Citizens League is projecting the cost-of-living increase will be 2.5%, the organization said in a news release earlier this month. That would be lower than recent years, but in line with historical norms. In 2023, beneficiaries saw their highest increase in decades at 8.7%. This year's increase was 3.2%.
In 2010, 2011 and 2016, there was zero increase.
While giving veterans an annual bump in their benefits is considered noncontroversial, Congress still must formally approve the increase every year and sometimes comes down to the wire in doing so.
The official approval of the increase this year was applauded by lawmakers in both parties.
"With the rising costs of goods and living expenses, many disabled veterans and their dependents, including survivors, rely on VA for essential financial support," Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement Thursday. "Making certain earned benefits stay on pace with rising prices will help provide veterans and their families with much-needed peace of mind."
Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, a Navy SEAL veteran who sponsored the House version of the bill, said in a statement after the House passage that the vote was "a testament to our ongoing commitment to America's heroes and their families."
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