WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) reintroduced the Ensuring Survivor Benefits During COVID Act, a bipartisan bill ensuring family members of veterans who passed away due to the coronavirus receive the dependent benefits they’ve earned. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Currently, veterans who pass away from coronavirus may have their cause of death labeled as “COVID-19” without accounting for service related disabilities that further complicate their coronavirus diagnosis. This bill ensures those disabilities are taken into account so family members have access to the proper benefits.
“As we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, we have tragically lost thousands of veterans who had service-related disabilities,” said Senator Tillis. “This bipartisan legislation would ensure the families of those veterans receive the rightful benefits they deserve.”
“COVID-19 has taken the lives of too many Arizonans, including our brave veterans. Learning whether service related disabilities contribute to veterans’ coronavirus deaths will help ensure family members grieving the loss of veterans receive their rightful benefits,” said Sinema.
“TAPS is thankful that Senator Sinema and Senator Tillis have introduced critical and timely legislation to ensure the Department of Veteran’s Affairs grants benefits to survivors of veterans who die of COVID-19 with an underlying, service connected, health issue that may have contributed to their death by coronavirus,” said Bonnie Carroll, President and Founder of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). “In challenging times it is important that we come together in nonpartisan ways to help our veterans, survivors and fellow citizens as we all cope with the damaging effects of this unprecedented pandemic. It is our hope and expectation that the Ensuring Survivors Benefits during COVID-19 Act of 2021 will receive overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle and we look forward to seeing it passed into law.”
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