Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1590 To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend increased dependency and indemnity compensation paid to surviving spouses of veterans who die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, regardless of how long the veterans had such disease prior to death, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2023 Mr. COONS (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend increased dependency and indemnity compensation paid to sur- viving spouses of veterans who die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, regardless of how long the veterans had such disease prior to death, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for ALS Vet- 4 erans Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1590.IS S1590 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1590 IS SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF INCREASED DEPENDENCY AND IN- 1 DEMNITY COMPENSATION TO SURVIVING 2 SPOUSES OF VETERANS WHO DIE FROM 3 AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS. 4 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 1311(a)(2) of title 38, 5 United States Code, is amended— 6 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The rate’’; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 8 paragraph: 9 ‘‘(B) A veteran whom the Secretary determines died 10 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis shall be treated as a 11 veteran described in subparagraph (A) without regard for 12 how long the veteran had such disease prior to death.’’. 13 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (B) of section 14 1311(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, as added by 15 subsection (a), shall apply to a veteran who dies from 16 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on or after October 1, 2022. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1590.IS S1590 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS